Featured Audience Ratings

• Alexander D

  
  Ever since his childhood, Ray Robinson (publicized as Ray Charles, of course, to avoid confusion with Sugar Ray Robinson) lived a tough life. He was only a mere child when he witnessed his brother drown in a bathtub, and for his whole life, he carried with him the grief of knowing he… More
  Ever since his childhood, Ray Robinson (publicized as Ray Charles, of course, to avoid confusion with Sugar Ray Robinson) lived a tough life. He was only a mere child when he witnessed his brother drown in a bathtub, and for his whole life, he carried with him the grief of knowing he could have saved his brother. Less than a year later, Ray began suffering from blindness and was forced to find his way around using his other four senses, mainly his sense of touch. Early on in his adulthood, he was discovered to excel at both voice and the piano. His career rose exponentially, despite some controversy over him supposedly transforming gospel music used to praised the Lord into sacrilegious songs with sexual subtexts, with hits such as "I Got a Woman", "Hit the Road", and "Georgia on My Mind"-many of his songs we recognize today very well and don't even associate with him-but at the same time his outside life began to fall. Ray was dealing with segregation and drug addiction, a factor that basically collapsed the rest of his personal life, and would have destroyed his career quickly, had he not produced such hits to keep it alive. There are some discrepancies between the film interpretation RAY and the actual events, so I've heard, but I'd say these changes were made for the benefit of producing a story that flows. The film is a heavy character study, and it seems the extended version grants it even more depth, with over twenty-five extra minutes of flashbacks and musical footage that did not appear in the theatrical cut. It's not a necessary edit to the film, but I'd recommend it. The story here, extended or not, is about as fluent as most great stories, something difficult for a biographical film to achieve. This isn't THE IRON LADY. Ray's heroin addiction isn't presented for half the film, just as dementia was in that more recent film. Writers Taylor Hackford and James L. White want to make it very clear that there were many equally problematic situations that occurred during the performer's lifetime, spreading them out and transitioning between them evenly. It's a shame Ray Charles himself passed away only a few months before his biographical picture was released. For anyone who appreciates soul music-or at least its king-as much as I do, the film is essential. It isn't perfect, nor is it set up any different than the ideal biopic, but it's otherwise stunning. read the uncut review at themoviefreakblog.com

• Jeff "

  
  Taylor Hackford has crafted one of the best biopics of a musician since Clint Eastwood's Bird. Jamie Foxx gives the performance of his career in the lead role of Ray Charles. This is a well crafted biopic and there are some very strong performances alongside that of Jamie Foxx.… More
  Taylor Hackford has crafted one of the best biopics of a musician since Clint Eastwood's Bird. Jamie Foxx gives the performance of his career in the lead role of Ray Charles. This is a well crafted biopic and there are some very strong performances alongside that of Jamie Foxx. Ray is a superb film that has a near flawless plot, and great directing. Ray is one of the best biopics that I've seen in recent memory. Foxx's performance is just as solid as Joaquin Phoenix's performance of Johnny Cash in Walk the Line and Forrest Whitaker's performance of Charlie Parker in Bird. This is a solid film with an engaging dramatic story that recounts the fame and turmoil of one of the greatest musicians that ever lived. Jamie Foxx definitely delivered as Ray Charles, and of all his roles, this is his best role to date. Director Taylor Hackford paints a vivid portrait of Ray Charles' life and combined with Jamie Foxx' phenomenal acting, you have one unforgettable performance and film for that matter. This is an entertaining film that possesses some strong elements that the viewer simply can't ignore. The films imperfections forgive able because of Foxx's performance, he is what makes this film what it is, and his portrayal of Ray Charles is flawless, immaculate and unforgettable. I very much love to watch biopics, and Ray is a solid dramatic biopic that will please fans of Ray Charles as well as film fans. A must see if you're looking for a great drama film with strong performances.

• Stephen M

  
  Occasionally slushy, perhaps a shade on the long side, but very well acted and solidly entertaining nevertheless. Certainly a better portrait of Ray Charles than one would've expected.

• Jim C

  
  A tremendous story on the best jazz singer ever, Ray Charles. Jamie Foxx stars in this and is his iconic role and the highlight of his career, and he deserved the oscar. The plot was a great journey through his life, and I felt the great feeling I had in Walk the Line, a sense of… More
  A tremendous story on the best jazz singer ever, Ray Charles. Jamie Foxx stars in this and is his iconic role and the highlight of his career, and he deserved the oscar. The plot was a great journey through his life, and I felt the great feeling I had in Walk the Line, a sense of happiness for these great musicians. The whole cast did great, but Foxx truly is the best. I enjoyed the great music that they re did with Foxx singing, and he truly was fantastic. One of the greatest biopic films ever, and one of my favs.

• Anthony L

  
  I've always been a big fan of Ray Charles but apart from his music and and few interviews he did in the late eighties, I really didn't know that much about him. He was a bit of a rascal eh! I have to be honest, I though this was going to be another cliched biopic but I was… More
  I've always been a big fan of Ray Charles but apart from his music and and few interviews he did in the late eighties, I really didn't know that much about him. He was a bit of a rascal eh! I have to be honest, I though this was going to be another cliched biopic but I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be pretty original. At first it seemed like it was going at around a month a second but Hackford wisely and masterfully uses flash-backs to his advantage. It has become somewhat of a template now but I guess if it ain't broke, don't bother fixing it! Jamie Foxx isn't an actor that I'm that enamoured by at the best of times but I was impressed with his performance here.

• Richard C

  
  B

• Daniel P

  
  As in so many of his movies, Jamie Foxx outshines the film itself - a well-deserved Academy Award. It wasn't the greatest movie in some regards, particularly when trying to speak of Ray Charles's influence: being the first to fuse gospel and R&B, for example, is such a… More
  As in so many of his movies, Jamie Foxx outshines the film itself - a well-deserved Academy Award. It wasn't the greatest movie in some regards, particularly when trying to speak of Ray Charles's influence: being the first to fuse gospel and R&B, for example, is such a niche genre point that said so much less about the character than did the portrayal itself. The ending as well felt a bit like a "we ran out of flim" sort of moment, when the captioning covered about half his life in a sentence, but at the same time, I can see the staying power of this one: beautiful to look at, with great music and good acting, I wouldn't complain too loudly if I found myself watching it again.

• Dean M

  
  Although it is still drawn-out, this lovingly produced biography of singer-pianist Ray Charles plays more smoothly on film. Foxx's Oscar-winning title performance still dominates, helped by Charles's own hit recordings. This traces the performer's dirt-poor childhood,… More
  Although it is still drawn-out, this lovingly produced biography of singer-pianist Ray Charles plays more smoothly on film. Foxx's Oscar-winning title performance still dominates, helped by Charles's own hit recordings. This traces the performer's dirt-poor childhood, early blindness, cross-country touring, chart-topping success and long struggles with drug addiction. The leisurely set-up is badly served by a rushed finale that feels as though the filmmakers ran out of time. But the music, and a slick middle section, make this film thoroughly entertaining.

• Lady D

  
  Slightly dissapointed in this, heard good things but found parts boring. Jamie Fox, however took a great part as Ray

• Curtis L

  
  Basically another 'walk hard' movie about drugs and cheating on wives. Pretty great though.

• Mike S

  
  Jamie Foxx is perfect in the role as the legendary Ray Charles and it's no wonder he received an Oscar for his outstanding performance. Not only that, but the story and biopic of Ray's life and career was also quite interesting to behold, despite the fact that I've… More
  Jamie Foxx is perfect in the role as the legendary Ray Charles and it's no wonder he received an Oscar for his outstanding performance. Not only that, but the story and biopic of Ray's life and career was also quite interesting to behold, despite the fact that I've never really been into his style of music. With that in mind, it turned out to be a surprisingly pleasant (altough a bit overly long) journey of a movie, that you don't necessarily have to be a music lover to enjoy.

• Jens S

  
  Telling the story of Ray Charles' road to success and fame this biography of the musician's life does not leave out his drug abuse and cheating on his wife, even makes it the main point of the second half of the movie. While the ending, Charles facing his brother's… More
  Telling the story of Ray Charles' road to success and fame this biography of the musician's life does not leave out his drug abuse and cheating on his wife, even makes it the main point of the second half of the movie. While the ending, Charles facing his brother's early death and that he was not to be blamed for it to overcome his drug abuse, is a tad naive and anticlimatic it is Jamie Foxx' Oscar rewarded performance that carries the movie through a few slow middle parts. He basically turns into Ray Charles, giving and outstanding performance. There is plenty of music in the film, which is great for the fans, maybe sometimes a little tiring for others. In all, a really decent portray of a musician who shaped the music of the 50s and 60s, but not quite as great as Walk the Line.

• Lenny M

  
  It's not Foxx's voice but he perfects the antics of Ray.

• Alexander W

  
  Cinemagraphic biography, which is very detailed and clearly beyong most films.

• Dan S

  
  A decent biography, but a bit to long for my taste.

• Emile T

  
  Ray Charles gave his only good performance in that good movie... Still, it was an amazing perfomance.

• Candy R

  
  Movie about Ray Charles who went blind at the age of 7 but had an amazing gift for music. Jamie Foxx is excellent.

• Al S

  
  Jamie Foxx is phenouminal, he gives the performance of a lifetime. He is truly superb as Ray Charels. An increiable and extroadinary performance. A marvelous and magnificent film. Unforgettable and remarkable. A truly inspirational movie. Taylor Hackford has directed a real crowning… More
  Jamie Foxx is phenouminal, he gives the performance of a lifetime. He is truly superb as Ray Charels. An increiable and extroadinary performance. A marvelous and magnificent film. Unforgettable and remarkable. A truly inspirational movie. Taylor Hackford has directed a real crowning achievement. A masterpiece. He shows not only the life of Ray but his hear and soul. A real crowd pleaser that actually pleases. You'll be standing on your feet and cheering.

• Sanjaya &

  
  I guess this movie can lucky get an Oscar only because they have Jamie Foxx inside. The story is so bad and boring

• Lanning :

  
  Hmmmmm . . . an Oscar-worthy performance . . . I don't know. I'd seen him do Charles so many times before, I couldn't think of this as much of a stretch. Don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking Foxx's talent. It's just that I didn't think he… More
  Hmmmmm . . . an Oscar-worthy performance . . . I don't know. I'd seen him do Charles so many times before, I couldn't think of this as much of a stretch. Don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking Foxx's talent. It's just that I didn't think he had to go very far to do this. Maybe what really put me off with this film was learning more about Charles than I wanted to know. Oh well . . .

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