There are two broad schools of biographical pictures: Those that use their subjects as a means to explore larger issues — think NIXON (1995) or THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT (1996) — and those whose primary interest is recounting the person's life story, point by point. Taylor Hackford's entertaining but cursory film about musical legend Ray Charles fits squarely into the latter category. Spanning almost 20 years, it follows Charles' rise to the top of the music charts and the personal problems that bedevil him en route. It begins in 1948, as 17-year-old Ray Robinson (Jamie Foxx) stands at a bus stop, waiting for the Greyhound that will take him to Seattle, where a frie...
Released:
2004
Rated:
PG-13
Length:
152 mins