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National Treasure
It's The DaVinci Code American Style!

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Sean Bean, Harvey Keitel
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Screenwriters: Jim Kouf, Cormac Wibberley, Marianne Wibberley

Reviewed by Chris Ching

Childhood Confession: Before becoming the wizened pop culture aficionado before you, I thought Ray Charles was Sammy Hagar. Somehow I'd heard the name and pinned it upon the blind, black singer who wasn't Stevie Wonder. I have absolutely NO idea how I came to this conclusion, but I'm happy to get it off my chest. Now on with the review...

Ray is an extremely watchable movie spotlighting the brilliant yet tumultuous career of the originator of soul, Ray Charles. What raises it to the top of the often dubious bio pic genre is the dynamic performance by Jamie Foxx still red hot after the success of Collateral. Earth to Denzel Washington and Will Smith, your reign is over.

Fox not only looks uncannily like the music visionary (no pun intended) but acts with such deft precision I believed he WAS Ray Charles. And it's not just a stellar work of imitation. Foxx's acting chops are wonderfully displayed in his gripping depiction of the demons Charles fought all his life - primarily the blindness that struck him in childhood.

Perceived by Charles as punishment for being unable to save the life of his younger brother, his handicap is portrayed as being both a conduit for inspiration and self-destruction. It drove him to excel in the world of music. It also drove him to get hooked on smack as well as becoming a serial adulterer. This guy not only had Georgia on his mind, but Margie, Mary Ann, and countless others.

Of course Ray is overflowing with the hits that have become standards of American music: "Unchain My Heart", "What'd I Say","Hit The Road Jack". These tunes and other classics are effectively utilized to enhance and comment upon the scenes in which they appear.

While most of the acting praise should go to Jamie Foxx, there are many other notable performances especially Regina King and Kerry Washington as Charles's wife and mistress. Also director Taylor Hackford has brought together what can only be described as character actor nirvana! Any film that features Curtis Armstrong (better known as Booger from Revenge of the Nerds), Bokeem Woodbine, and Warwick Davis of Wicket, Willow, and Leprechaun fame scores points with me.

On the downside, Ray is guilty of the type of cliches that mar most bio pics: clunky expository dialogue, Charles' creation of his big hit "What'd I Say " is filmed with the same reverence as man discovering fire, and furniture gets violently thrown when Charles hits his all time personal low.

Still, Ray is a moving film about a guy who took the unlucky hand life dealt him and lived a life worth remembering - warts and all.

Rating:

(3 out of 4 stars)

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