Ray (2004)

Okay, so obviously this did not go up last weekend.  In fact, nothing did because it turns out that it is extremely difficult to watch a movie and sight-see.

No poster today because I am on a train to New York City for a girl's weekend.

I did get in a movie last night because I am dedicated.

Ray Charles (Jamie Foxx) moves to Seattle to join the growing Jazz scene but finds his blindness exploited by those he is meant to trust.  While on the road, he also develops a heroin addiction which will inform most of his life.

A lot was made about Foxx's performance and really going for the "method" approach but honestly every single person in this film acted their faces off.  Kerry Washington and Regina King are phenomenal.  Clifton Powell is amazing.  Even Warwick Davis is in this for a hot second.

It's not so much a revolution to the biopic formula but it is still absolutely worth watching.  Ray Charles was not a person who I had ever been curious about, and I was happy to learn that on top of being a gifted performer, he was an incredible mimic.

The direction is interesting, with sharp cuts to Charles' early life and childhood trauma, but it was a little jarring at first.  I would have liked to have seen a more seamless transition from his early life on the road to his meteoric success but I understand that everybody's life has boring bits that aren't cinematic and should be left on the cutting room floor.  Like I said, it's absolutely worth watching if you haven't seen it and it's currently streaming on Amazon Prime.