The music numbers are lively, the supporting cast solid, and the direction by Taylor Hackford is fully efficient.
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10/29/04
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Ray (2004)
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Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:190
Fresh:155
Rotten:35
Average Rating:7.3/10
Consensus: Critics can't stop loving Jamie Foxx's performance in Ray, which is being hailed as an engrossing and energetic take on Charles' achievements and demons.
Theatrical Release:Oct 29, 2004 Wide
Box Office: $75,236,415
Synopsis: Ray is the never-before-told, musical biographical drama of American legend Ray Charles. Featuring a remarkable performance from Jamie Foxx in the central role, Ray follows the inspiring story of a... [More]
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Regina King, Kerry Washington, Curtis Armstrong
Director: Taylor Hackford
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Reviews for Ray
It's the kind of movie in which every song or musical breakthrough has a dramatic inspiration drawn from a real-life experience, designed to make us believe a life can be analyzed through its creative expressions and successes.
10/29/04
Top CriticFoxx's spectacular, eerily accurate performance as Charles makes what would have been a rather sketchy movie better.
10/29/04
Foxx gives one of the year's best performances, and early talk about an Oscar nomination is entirely justified.
10/29/04
Top CriticHackford has made a film that -- like Charles' music itself -- breaks your heart, makes it brim with joy and ultimately fills it with a deep belief in beauty and salvation.
10/29/04
Top CriticIt is not a great movie, suffering from the conundrum of being both too shallow and too long, but it is still an easy movie to recommend because of the experience it gives us.
10/29/04
The singer had a hit with 'Drown in My Own Tears,' but he staunchly refused to do that all his life, and Ray honors his spirit.
10/29/04
Foxx is not at fault here -- with Ray, he arrives at the front ranks of American film actors -- but the filmmakers' need to bend biography until it assumes triumphal shape is.
10/29/04
The movie would be worth seeing simply for the sound of the music and the sight of Jamie Foxx performing it. That it looks deeper and gives us a sense of the man himself is what makes it special.
10/29/04
Top CriticIt's a credit to Foxx that his performance fast-tracks the film through its length of 152 minutes and nullifies Hackford's hackery.
10/29/04
Jamie Foxx is positively Times-Square electric, the film however is more like a flickering energy-efficient 40 watt-bulb.
10/29/04
Reductive and simplistic, but whenever Foxx opens his mouth to sing and the voice of Ray Charles comes out, the film is a pleasure...
10/29/04
Jamie Foxx masterfully assumes his role as the beloved American music pioneer. The line between Foxx and Ray Charles blurs to the point of being no line at all.
10/29/04
Jamie Foxx’s interpretation of Ray is astonishingly faithful to the man as most of us remember him. How could he not win the Oscar? The music is terrific.
10/29/04
Wow. Foxx's portrait of the man, the myth, the legend is nothing short of remarkable, a tour de force.
10/29/04
Ray collapses lore and desire into metaphorical, emotional, and narrative economy, occasioned by a groundbreaking song.
10/29/04
Ray makes a convincing case that Foxx may have the same level of acting chops that Charles had on the microphone and keyboard.
10/29/04
Foxx, at the center of the turbulence in the title role, turns in a remarkable, soulful performance. ... It might just have Oscar's golden statuette tapping its toes.
10/29/04
Jamie Foxx will be one of this year's hottest Oscar contenders for his charismatic portrayal of this pioneering musical genius.
10/29/04
[Foxx is] astonishing... using his whole body... to express himself eloquently...
10/29/04
Latest News for Ray
October 07, 2009:
Jamie Foxx Plans Mike Tyson Biopic 
Does one good biopic deserve another? "Ray" star Jamie Foxx wants to reunite with director Taylor Hackford for a look at the life and times of Mike Tyson. More...
October 15, 2007:
Mirren and Pesci Saddling Up at Hackford's Love Ranch
Helen Mirren, Joe Pesci, and Taylor Hackford are headed to the Love Ranch. More...
December 29, 2006:
Kasdan, Apatow & John C. Reilly to Introduce "Dewey Cox"
How many musician-centric biopics do you have to sit through before you start clamoring for a nice juicy parody of the sub-genre? Well, one's on it's way, courtesy of director... More...
December 08, 2006:
The Weekly Ketchup: "Spider-Man 3" Teasers, "Pirates 3" Pics And Rumors, "Transformers" Images, And More!
In this week's Ketchup, we just can't get enough of those tidbits from the upcoming third installments of "Spider-Man" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" and the... More...
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