A good musical biopic generally lives or dies on the strength of the actor charged with bringing the subject to screen, not only in terms of their acting performance, but also with their ability to capture that certain essence that makes a musical icon so fundamentally special. And often because of that the same evaluation levelled at the performance becomes indicative of the film as a whole- so Walk The Line was good but not great, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll was excellent, and Beyond The Sea was just plain dull. It is little wonder then, given the plaudits aimed at
Jamie Foxx (including an Oscar nod for Best Actor), that
Ray is considered a high-point for the genre. Believe it or not, this was the first time I had ever sat down to watch Ray, some seven years after its cinematic release- thanks to Universal's
blu-ray re-release (replacing the HD-DVD release of a few years back) that hits shelves this week. And I can honestly say, I was blown away by not only Jamie Foxx's Oscar-winning turn as Ray Charles, but also by the film in general.
Ray is a tale of multi-faceted excellence: ignoring for the minute the powerhouse central performance that has traditionally (and rightly to a certain extent) taken most of the focus and indeed earned the greatest plaudits , there are a lot of things to marvel at here. The script in particular, written by
James White (alongside director
Taylor Hackford) is brilliant, ostensibly offered as a four part broad look at Charles' life, from his musical journey, through his love life, his addiction to heroin and his early life and how it prefigured his life and career choices. It is the love story aspect that shines brightest- Charles' indiscretions with several of his backing singers, and his sometimes turbulent marriage are treated very well, and the strength of the script in these areas in particular is matched only by blistering supporting performances by the female actors charged with offering balance to Foxx's usually scene-stealing portrayal of the great man.
Regina King stands out, as does first-timer
Sharon Warren (who has now sadly all-but disappeared from screens as quickly as she arrived), and the manner in which they grab focus in what is essentially a one-man film is very impressive.
While Ray may tread a very familiar Genius With Demons line for a good deal of the time, and also play the triumph in the face of adversity card, there is much more depth and value to the biopic than just as an extended cliche. Ray celebrates Charles' heroism, as much as his genius, but never seeks to overtly apologise for his various misdemeanours, which surely must have been tempting for a production team so invested in furthering his legendary status. But I would say I would have preferred a little more insight into Ray's interior- but then, when everything exterior is done this well, it's hard to argue the case. Foxx's performance is so entirely immersing that it is possible to forgive the film of its rather slap-dash approach to the major events of his life- everything seems to be dealt with rather quickly, and in a manner that often suggests that the director has decided to place the majority of his chips on the strength of Foxx's impersonation of Ray Charles, and the musician's own music, which must rank as one of the stars of the film alongside the human players. At the end of the day it's an excellent celebration of Ray Charles' life, rather than the in-depth, searching biopic that some behind the camera would have us believe- but to that end, it is brilliantly executed, wonderful looking, and an ideal vehicle for both some terrific acting performances (Foxx's chiefly of course), and also Charels' iconic musical output.
Quality
Just when you think Universal are happy to keep releasing thread-bare, obligatory high definition transfers for those titles initially released to the now defunct HD- DVD format, they come up with one that genuinely does a service to the original source. Ray is incredibly sharp, wonderfully textured and detailed and perfectly suited to the sun-baked photography, and the wonderfully rich visual aesthetic. The audio track is just sublime. Every song on the soundtrack reaches through your speakers to grab you by the shirt collar and immerse you totally. The music is of course the star, but everything else is clean, crisp and equally as immersive, from dialogue to the crowd scenes everything sounds exceptional.
Extras
Jam-packed with retrospective featurettes dedicated to Ray Charles, which offer insight into both the life of the artist, and his genius, and also the creative process that prefigured Jamie Foxx's incredible transformation. Just as the film itself stands as a wonderful tribute to Charles, the extra features offer further tribute through recorded footage of Ray, talking head dedications from the likes of Al Green, Quincy Jones and the cast of actors, who clearly hold their subject in huge esteem. The only real shame is that there is no Extended Cut of the film here, which was initially presented as part of the two-disc Special Edition, but then the extra near half an hour of scenes are included as a separate Deleted Scenes segment. The rest of the features are transferred directly across from either the HD-DVD or the preceding DVD: starting with an intro from director Taylor Hackford, for whom this is an obvious work of passion, a series of uncut musical performances, the brilliant commentary with Hackford, and a series of six short featurettes and short documentaries dedicated to Charles' life, the film's production, including developmental problems (which now seem utterly ridiculous), the women of the film and how Jamie Foxx prepared himself to play the role. Introduction by Director Taylor Hackford Deleted Scenes (With optional director commentary) Extended Music Scenes Stepping Into The Part Ray Remembered The Women of Ray The Filmmakers' Journey Ray: An American Story A Look Inside Ray Commentary with Taylor Hackford Theatrical Trailer Ray is available to
buy on blu ray now.