Genre Guesstimation – Ray (2004)

The idea behind this new feature (Genre Guesstimation) is for me to watch a bunch of new movies from the chosen monthly GG genre in order to expand my knowledge of movies within that particular genre.

Let’s see if I felt that this movie would be worthy of being in the company of my others favorite movies in the genre of BioPics…

 “Don’t jive me, man.” – Ray Charles

Number of Times Seen – 2  (16 Apr 2006 and 27 Oct 2014)

Brief Synopsis – The story of how a struggling negro blind man musician in the South during the 1950’s and 60’s became the music sensation we all know and love.

My Take on it – Ray Charles had such a huge influence on the music industry as we now know it, but his rise wasn’t an easy one.

This movie was an eye opener in the way it showed how he struggled as a young blind black musician in the South, but despite the racial prejudice, he managed to overcome many obstacles along the way.

Jamie Foxx’s portrayal of Charles looked and felt like a perfect channeling of the late great singer.

Foxx won a Best Actor Oscar for this role and showed the world how great an actor he is.

As with many biopics, the short 2.5 hour running time is a disadvantage because it tried to cram too much into it and some scenes feel incomplete and choppy.

I wonder if there will ever be a longer cut because I’d be very interested in seeing one.

Bottom Line – Amazing performance by Foxx but the storyline is a bit choppy and uneven because it doesnt gave enough time to tell the whole story. Recommended!

Genre Grandeur Worthy? – I know I keep saying this, but this movie came close because of Foxx’s performance, but the incomplete feeling from the storyline lessens the impact a bit

Rating – Globe Worthy

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