Jamie Fox gives a flawless performance about the life of legendary singer/songwriter Ray Charles in the newly released movie Ray. The movie depicts the life of Ray Charles from his humble beginnings as a dirt poor son of a single mother in the pre-civil rights movement south. He is haunted in adulthood by images of the drowning death of his cherished little brother that he witnessed in his youth and the final words of his mother, “to never let anyone treat him as a cripple.” Ray not only shows the steady heights and pitfalls of a young rising star, but also candidly depicts his heroin addiction, recovery and his turbulent marriage and extra-marital affairs as well. But more importantly, it depicts the difficulty of being blind and black in the pre-civil rights movement south, trying to live life as the independent star that he is.

When a character in the movie asked him how he got around without using a cane, he replied that he listened to the sound of his shoes against the floor. The sound of his shoes hitting the floor echoed against the wall and, when there was an opening in the wall, the sound changed, telling him that he had approached a doorway.

When on his first date with his future wife, he commented about the hummingbird outside the window, a good twenty feet away from their table. Amazed, she asked him how he knew that there was a hummingbird outside the window and he said, “Because I can hear it.”

The movie demands laughter as well as tears from the audience, who is taken into the movie from the start and becomes emotionally involved in the life of Ray Charles. The movie is honest and candid, accurately depicting the life of this great legend. Not only is Fox’s performance spectacular, but those of the supporting actors is superb as well, becoming the stuff that Oscars are made of. This is a must see movie. I give it six stars out of five.