The story really starts with Ray's leaving home to make a career as a pianist, initially as a Nat King Cole clone. He gets ripped off by the female club owner with whom he also sleeps.
But soon he has a recording career, one which takes off when he is signed up by Atlantic Records, a company which is willing to develop his talents.
There are some moments which suggest a little tampering with the truth. Did his classic version of What'd I Say really come about when he was forced to add an extra 20 minutes to a club date and developed the arrangement on the spot with band and singers?
Even if it did not, however, it is a classic moment in the film.
Fans of the singer will get a lot of his music and it remains as exciting today as it was over 40 years ago.
His tempestuous affair with Raelet singer Margie Hendricks (a forceful Regina King) is vividly portrayed although her suicide happens off screen.
But the film really belongs to Foxx who went as far as having his eyes taped shut to portray the singer's blindness and who never makes a false emotional move throughout the entire movie.
You can enjoy the film even if you are not a Charles fan. If you are, this must remain essential viewing.
