Ray (2004)
Directed by Taylor Hackford
Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make his own way, He found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered coupling gospel and country together.
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What critics compared Ray to
The lesson of Tod Browning's Freaks is that disability is the great democratizing factor, trumping race in matters of larceny and division--and Ray, at its best, balances entertainment with politics in the same deft, graceful way as Charles himself.
Unlike Jamie Foxx, whose Oscar-winning portrayal of Ray Charles confirmed his ability to portray a famous celebrity with agency and depth, beyond a basic use of mimicry, I simply do not know what we have here with Michael’s nephew.
I used to believe that Walk Hard, Jake Kasdan and Judd Apatow’s pitch-perfect parody of movies like Ray and Walk the Line, should have killed the conventional musical biopic.
For Darkest Hour, he emulates Churchill’s speech so perfectly, it’s one of those rare moments in cinema history, up there with Jamie Foxx’s performance in Ray.