A polished, emotionally accessible music biopic anchored by a star-making Jamie Foxx performance, strong period detail, and a crowd-pleasing soundtrack. It’s conventional in structure and a little long, but the energy, musical momentum, and central performance make it an easy recommendation.
69% ★★★☆☆ (259,011)
Ray
Where to watch: Buy
Movie · Drama · Music · PG-13
2004 · 2h 32m · ★ 69% (259K)
The extraordinary life story of Ray Charles.
Director: Taylor Hackford
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Regina King
Overview
Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make his own way, He found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered coupling gospel and country together.
Director
Taylor Hackford
Production
Bristol Bay Productions, Universal Pictures, Anvil Films, Baldwin Entertainment Group
Cast
Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Regina King, Harry Lennix, Clifton Powell, Bokeem Woodbine, Sharon Warren, C.J. Sanders, Curtis Armstrong, Richard Schiff, Larenz Tate, Terrence Howard, David Krumholtz, Wendell Pierce, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Chris Thomas King, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Rick Gomez, Denise Dowse, Warwick Davis
Curator Review
Verdict
A polished, emotionally accessible music biopic anchored by a star-making Jamie Foxx performance, strong period detail, and a crowd-pleasing soundtrack. It’s conventional in structure and a little long, but the energy, musical momentum, and central performance make it an easy recommendation.
Best for
fans of performance-driven biopics
viewers who want classic soul and blues music on screen
audiences who like inspirational rise-and-fall stories
people interested in 2000s prestige dramas
Skip if
you want a formally adventurous biopic
you’re tired of familiar cradle-to-grave structure
you prefer films that linger on the aftermath rather than the rise
you’re looking for a very gritty, unsentimental portrait
Overview
Ray is one of the more satisfying mainstream music biopics of its era because it understands the basic job: make the life feel lived-in, let the music breathe, and give the lead actor room to disappear into the role. Jamie Foxx does exactly that, carrying the film with physical precision, comic timing, and a convincing emotional arc that keeps the movie moving even when the structure turns familiar.
Worth noting
Taylor Hackford stages the rise of Ray Charles with plenty of momentum, and the soundtrack does a lot of the storytelling work. The film is at its best when it connects the artist’s personal wounds, ambition, and appetite for freedom to the sound he creates. It’s less interested in formal risk than in polish and propulsion, which makes it easy to watch even when it stretches a bit.
Bottom line
The result is a solid, audience-friendly biopic that earns its reputation more through execution than surprise. It doesn’t fully escape the genre’s usual compromises, but the performances, music, and emotional clarity make it an enduring watch.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Patrick Willems (2★) · 1059 likes
I like how Ray goes to rehab and then the movie just...ends. And text tells us "he never did drugs again."
Felipe F. (3.5★) · 730 likes
It was very bold of the filmmakers to actually go back in time and cast young Ray Charles as himself. Not many filmmakers would take such a risk.
Michael James (3.5★) · 249 likes
Though this musical biopic is a bit overstretched with some flaws, it is just full of energy and love, powered by some fantastic performance from Jamie Foxx and refreshing blues. It addresses the psychological aspects, balancing out both his personal and professional fronts through his musical odyssey in a neat and engaging manner. A good solid watch.
Enzo Santos (4.5★) · 207 likes
"Always remember your promise to me. Never let nobody or nothing turn you into no cripple."
JT (5★) · 200 likes
Fell in love with this movie on a long plane ride a little over a year ago! Don't judge me! I always thought it was boring and didn't even give it a chance, like most ppl with things that don't spark their personal interest! I was so wrong!!! Now I have to watch this movie every plane ride! I know mostly every line & what I love the most is the humor in men having the audacity disable & all!!!! You can't
A more stylized, maximalist take on the rise of a musical icon and the machinery around him.
Themes
musical genius, blindness and independence, addiction and recovery, fame and self-destruction, family influence, racial segregation and the American South, artistic identity, romance and betrayal
Topics
music biopic, soul, blues, drama, 2000s prestige, addiction, rise and fall, period piece, American South, performance