You can hardly blame "Ray" for going soft on its subject. After all, the film is a narrative feature, not a documentary.
Besides, the subject in question is the late R&B musician Ray Charles (born Ray Charles Robinson), one of the most beloved musical figures of the 20th century.
But the film puts up a front that it is going to come down on Charles harder than it does, and therefore doesn't really live up to its convictions. (Though it's not surprising, since Charles' family did authorize the film and Charles himself contributed to it before his death earlier this year.)
The result is a rather uneven and at times bloated biographical drama that strikes gold with Charles' music and by the good fortune of landing Jamie Foxx as its star. Foxx's spectacular, eerily accurate performance as Charles makes what would have been a rather sketchy movie better.
"Ray" makes an effort to be something of a warts-and-all biography, broaching the subject of Charles' various marital indiscretions and drug-addiction problems, which came to light in the 1960s after two high-profile arrests. However, it skimps on the details about how he developed his incredible musical talent, including his ability to copy the styles of other singers and musicians simply by hearing them.
That's what allowed him to leave Florida and join various jazz combos during the early 1950s. But he got his big break when he was signed by a fledgling record label. Later, his contract was bought out by Atlantic Records impresario Ahmet Ertegun (Curtis Armstrong), who helped him focus his talents (he even wrote Charles' first hit for that label, "Doin' the Mess Around").
With so much success all at once, Charles did succumb to the temptations of the road, having affairs with back-up singers Mary Anne Fisher (Aunjanue Ellis) and Margie Hendricks (Regina King), and putting his marriage to former gospel singer Della Bea Robinson (Kerry Washington) in jeopardy.
Director Taylor Hackford and screenwriter James L. White probably try to compress too much of Charles' life into a 2 1/2-hour movie, and consequently, much of it feels superficial (in particular, the portion dealing with his contributions to the civil-rights movement).
Still, it's Foxx's film, and he absolutely nails Charles' mannerisms, facial expressions and body language right. But it's no mere impression work here; this is career-defining stuff for the former comic, and certainly merits an Oscar nomination.
"Ray" is rated PG-13 for simulated drug use (marijuana and heroin), occasional use of strong profanity, racial epithets and crude sexual slang terms, some sexual contact, and some brief violence (a scuffle and a drowning). Running time: 152 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com