Film serves as musical tribute

Biopics are often difficult to direct. It's an arduous task not to sentimentalize the hardships of someone who overcomes so much to change the world. The film begins in the late '40s when Ray Charles was just beginning on the chitlin' circuit dance-hall scene. Charles' talent becomes evident to a record executive from Atlantic, and he lands a record deal. Hackford appropriately focuses more on the music itself, which ultimately was Charles' life. The film is a musical history lesson of sorts, showing how Charles' unique combination of gospel and blues is representative of much of the music that exists today. The performances alone are worth the price of admission. "Georgia On My Mind," "Hit the Road Jack" and "What I Say" are just a few of the legendary hits found in the film. And Jamie Foxx, who plays Charles, puts on swingin' performances that would have made Charles proud. Most of the records and songs released by Charles were well publicized and are common knowledge to many movie goers, yet his heroin addiction and womanizing are often considered better left unknown for most fans. However, director Taylor Hackford prominently displays these faults and allows the audience to suffer through them along with Charles. Charles seems to feel, as Hackford shows, that becoming a legendary musician brought with it these burdens, and he bears them without complaint or apology. Hackford also displays Charles' contributions to not only music but to society. He was the first musician to refuse to play the Jim Crow Theater because it was segregated and was banned from the state of Georgia. He was reinstated years later. Throughout the film, there are flashbacks to Charles' childhood in North Florida, but Hackford is satisfied to only expound on Charles' struggles with blindness at a young age and the haunting death of his little brother. With every swing of the leg and shift of the head, Foxx encapsulates the true essence of Ray Charles. It's a role that is lived rather than acted, and he will surely be earning his first Best Actor nomination after this performance. "Ray" may be more of a tribute to its subject than an exploratory film of Charles' life, but, as Ray probably would have said about Hackford and his film, "he make it do what it do, baby." Grade: A-