The 2005 Academy Awards are not yet a blip of the radar as we have yet to get our slew of traditional holiday movies that showcase performers reaching for that elusive statue. Based on reviews it appears that Leo DeCaprio will make a run based on his portrayal of Howard Hughes in “The Aviator.” Additionally it seems Johnny Depp is finally making that leap at least to the point where voter’s start agreeing with critics as to how talented his is, this time in “Finding Neverland.” As nice as it will be for Johnny and Leo to get nominated, it will really be just for show because the best actor race is already done, done before it had a chance to get started. Taking home the worlds most famous naked silver man will be Jamie Foxx based on his role as Ray Charles in “Ray.” The big story behind this may be that he would be only the 2nd African American to win Best Actor, following Denzel Washington who won for “Training Day” which in retrospect was really a make up award for him not winning for “Malcom X” which ranks as one of the best performances in modern screen history. While there is obvious historical merit to that possibility, I feel the true story goes beyond simple matters of race and more so to where Foxx’s performance ranks in all of movie history. It’s that good.
Before you can put Foxx’s performance in context you need to understand three rules that apply to acting roles. The first being that any time someone plays another real person, whether it be a straight biopic or other historical endeavor, they are playing with fire. If you do a great job you will be justly rewarded, in fact maybe unjustly, such as Nicole Kidman who won for “The Hours” which was a good but not great role but had the whole Virginia Wolf and fake nose appeal to it. On the flip side, take a role that requires you to imitate someone and you run the risk of being completely unbelievable, and not in a good way. Most recently is Kevin Spacey, playing the role of Bobby Darin in “Under the Sea.” On many occasions Spacey has spoken on his deep admiration for Darin and the movie only serves to pay homage. The fact that Spacey is way, way too old to play Darin kills it though because no matter how good he may be, people won’t give in, constantly thinking to themselves that they are watching Kevin Spacey play Bobby Darin, which kills the illusion.
On that idea the playing a real life figure offers great rewards with equal opportunities for failure is the instance of someone playing a famous musician. Of all the biopics made, it is the one about a musician that consistently is the most watchable. Even bad movies like “Great Balls of Fire” which starred Dennis Quaid as Jerry Lee Lewis is bearable, despite it being a truly horrible movie. Other times, when the movie is merely good, such as “La Bamba”, it is elevated to a status higher than it deserves. Then there are films that are excellent, usually because of it’s lead star, and those become instant classics, movies that you can watch over and over again. A successful portrayal of a deceased musical legend pretty much guarantees you recognition and in many instances multiple awards. Three examples are “Coal Miners Daughter”, “The Buddy Holly Story”, and “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” Sissy Spacek has proven herself over the years to be a tremendous talent so it it’s not surprising she was nominated for “Coal Miners” for her role as Loretta Lynn. Additionally, “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” produced not one by two nominations, for best actor and best actress, for Laurence Fishburne and Angela Basset, playing Ike and Tina Turner respectively. At the time Angela Basset may not have been that well known but she too, along with Fishburne, has proven to have immense acting talent. It is with the case of “The Buddy Holly Story” that we see this principle at its truest essence. The star of this movie was Gary Busey. Yes, that Gary Busey, the horse-toothed, ex-drug addict all around wack job you know see parodying himself on episodes of “Entourage” on HBO. Most people these days remember him for his roles in “Point Break” or as the bad guy in the original “Lethal Weapon” but for a brief time, in fact just for one movie, he was a bonified thespian and was recognized as such by the Academy. The fact he played and sung his own songs in the movie, a quaint little film made in 1978 that tells the story of the immortal Buddy Holly, and musician that more modern times may have forgotten, but whose death in a plane crash, along with the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens of “La Bamba” fame, has been referred to as “The Day The Music Died”, honored forever in Don McLean’s classic song “American Pie.” Now I’m a bit biased here in that I’ve seen this movie roughly 30 times since it was always seemed to be on during the Sunday afternoons of my youth, usually on the USA Network or TBS. Even to this day, when it comes on I get sucked in, partially out of love for the music, but also because Busey literally becomes Buddy Holly, the walk, the talk, the dress, the look, he is Buddy and it’s like watching history come to life. It also helps that Holly was a tremendous talent, which makes it that much more watchable, as is the case with “Ray.” Movies about dead musicians or any musician for that matter only work if that musician is supremely talented. Prior to “Ray” I would have made claim that Garey Busey held the title of best performance as a musician in history, but that honor is about to switch honors.
Before we get to Jamie Foxx, we need to address the third, and most prominent rule of all biopic-acting parameters. This rule doesn’t necessarily just apply to biopics per say, but instead it covers all genres of movie. It is the unwritten rule that anyone who plays a character that has a disability has a chance to win an award, the bigger the handicap, the bigger chance to reap the benefits. The history of actors who have benefited from this principle is long, but to give it a more current context look to Sean Penn as a mentally handicapped man in “I am Sam” a movie that for all intents and purposes is awful, yet he got a nomination for best actor. That is probably more a testament to Penn’s abilities as the premiere actor of his generation, after all, Juliette Lewis went the same route with “The Other Sister” and that didn’t make any huge impact. Penn did not win, but someone who did win was Dustin Hoffman for “Rain Man.” Oh, Rain Man, the loving story of a dick brother, Tom Cruise as his most dickish, taking his autistic older brother, played by Hoffman, on a roadtrip in which they learn to love each other. Or more accurately, Cruises uses Rain Man to his benefit, making fun of him, getting angry with him, and ultimately benefiting from his mathematical genius to clean up in Vegas. Rain Man was the only movie that I can think that actually made catchphrases out of the rambling non-sequitors of an autistic individual. “Wapner, time for Wapner”, or “I’m a excellent driver.” These were fun things to say back during that time, played for laughs, when it reality they were anything but funny, and the movie itself was anything but great. But there was Dustin, winning his Oscar, for better or worse. Maybe it was payback for being snubbed over Tootsie, which despite the obvious sight gag of a man in drag is one of the better comedic performances of all time.
To recap, playing a historical figure is good, a famous musician even better, and if you can be a famous musician who had a handicap, well then you are set. Thus we find ourselves with Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles. Ray Charles, the blind musical genius, who fused gospel music with R&B rhythms and then when he got bored, reinvented the way you listen to country and western music. He also happened to be a heroin addict and serial cheater on his wife as well as being at times a ruthless businessman. His story is the reason movies are made because of the fact that there has never been anyone like him nor will there ever be again. Just on his music alone he left a legacy that will last a lifetime, one of the 5-10 greatest musical talents of the modern era. Still, all of this wouldn’t matter if they didn’t get someone with enough talent to capture the magic of Ray. Thankfully they did.
Prior to “Ray” Jamie Foxx was well known but not thought of as a great actor. He showed promise in “Ali” is a very small part, his biggest role prior to that being Willie Beamon, the conflicted QB in “Any Given Sunday” in which the thing people noticed most was how ripped he was, muscular speaking. Earlier this year he co-starred in “Collateral” and though I have not seen it, most people tend to say that he was as good if not better than Tom Cruise, an impressive feat in itself. Foxx’s other roles were okay, but nothing ever hinted at what would come in “Ray.” This is not to say either that Foxx will become the next acting great, this could be, as it was for Busey, the role he was “born to play” and may never reach those heights again. To start with, he looks like Ray Charles, not as gaunt and Foxx’s head is more rectangular as opposed to Charles’ more oval visage, but definitely close enough. Secondly, Foxx is a classically trained pianist so while he may not have sang in the movie or played piano in all of the scenes, he knows how to play music and therefore is convincing in the performance scenes. No other element is as vital to believability in music films than the performance scenes feeling real. A testament to Foxx’s performance is that upon walking out of the theater you could hear people asking, “Was he really singing?” He was not, but he certainly fooled most people. The mannerisms that Foxx’s exhibits, that is just dead on, the manic shoulder sways and walking style of Ray Charles is nailed to a tee, as is the voice and way of talking, which shows Foxx’s comedic talent for mimicry. Much has been made of the fact that Foxx glued his eyes temporarily shut to fully immerse himself in the role, and while that is noble, similar methods have been done, such as DeNiro’s famous weight gain for “Raging Bull.”
What makes Foxx’s performance stand out, above all else, is that you completely forget you are watching him. Roughly 10 minutes into the movie you pretty much think you are watching Ray Charles. You feel the excitement in his songs, you feel the pain of his hardships, you get angry with him for the way he treats friends and family and you feel pity for him when the government wrongfully persecutes him and certain business associates take advantage of him. More than anything else, he stays with you. When you leave the theater you are singing the songs, when you are driving you car a few days later you remember the movie. You tell your friends to go see it and you struggle to find the words to describe Foxx’s performance. Then, a few days later, you see an awards show where Foxx wins, even something as frivolous as the “Big Actor in 04” from VH-1. But you see Foxx on stage, standing next to Stevie Wonder, the two of them smiling, Foxx paying tribute to Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, the living link from Charles himself, even dedicating an album to him in his earlier years, and you begin to realize that Foxx’s performance wasn’t just good, or maybe the best of the year, but something much more. He became Ray Charles, he wasn’t acting, he was channeling. Odds are he will never reach that level again, few actors do, they get that one role and just own it and that is what they build their legacy on. He may be great again in other films, but this will be it for him, the pinnacle. His performance will rank with the aforementioned DeNiro in “Raging Bull”, Brando in “On the Waterfront” and George C. Scott in “Patton.” Come the awards season, Mr. Foxx better do some extra exercise and build up those arms because he will need his strength to carry all of those trophies.
