Ray

Year: 2004 Rating: PG-13 Overall Evaluation: 9.0 Significance Suppositions Story Style 9.0 / 10 10.0 / 10 8.0 / 10 10.0 / 10 Click HERE for evaluation criteria.

Style

Rated PG-13 for depiction of drug addiction, sexuality and some thematic elements. Nothing gratuitous - pretty much all of the bad stuff is implied.

Story

This is based on the life of Ray Charles. Plot-wise it is the story of the rise of Ray Charles from a poor blind farm boy to the premier R&B phenomena he became. Along the way, however, we are shown that Ray is not a good person in many ways. He is a womanizer, an adulterer, a heroine addict, etc. The story tracks his rise to fame and his fall from independence, finishing with his eventual decision to live right.

Suppositions

The film does not flinch to show Ray as the person he was. No excuses are given for his actions - he's a hypocritical sinner, he knows it, and he doesn't care so long as it does not hurt his music. The grit is real and the filmmakers should be applauded for striking a balance between being sensitive and being harsh. "It is what is," as Ray might say.

Significance

This film is clearly one of redemption. Ray eventually manages to turn things around for himself. Unfortunately the film does not tell us anything about his true spiritual condition so what awaited him after his death in 2004 we cannot tell. But the overriding message is very positive and realistic.