Bio-Diversity

I've wanted to see Ray, the Ray Charles biopic starring Jamie Foxx, since its release. Tonight was the night. But what's the deal with the scores of biopics of late?

I find that biographical pictures often don't hit their marks. Perhaps it has to do with the jarring juxtaposition of the inimitable qualities the subjects of the film often possess, qualities the actors doing the portrayals seldom manage to duplicate, onscreen or off.

A fine example would be The Aviator. For some baffling reason, Scorcese's latest has entered numerous critics' Top 10 of 2004 lists. Did they see what I saw? It's good, but not great. Looked awful purty, but it lacked substance and was far too long.

The film's shortcomings had to do largely with Scorcese's attempts to bring home the obsessive madness of Howard Hughes. The scenes focusing on the insanity were strained and lacked fluidity. Many were two, three minutes in length, if not longer, and could have been brief without compromising substance.

The movie's as big as they come. The sets are expansive. The cinematography is gorgeous. The editing is sensational--Scorcese's work always is. As for the acting, at times, Leo DiCaprio managed well in the role, but he floundered at times. He was most believeable early in the film, and when he came before the inquiry to defend his engineering excesses. I used to be a DiCaprio fan until the big boat movie, you know the one. Ever since then, he hasn't been in touch with himself and it's obvious.

Speaking of touch, Scorcese has lost some of his. He's thinking too big, and his talent's spreading a little thin. He's better on a smaller scale. His indulging the scenes of Hughes' madness to the extent he did seems a desperate plea to touch base with his directorial brilliance from earlier in his career, a la Taxi Driver. Not quite, Marty. Not quite.

Ray, though, is a fine bio pic (though probably not one of the 10 best flicks of the year, either). A great ensemble cast, engaging to watch, with a great score, but my God, the hats off go to Jamie Foxx.

There were content issues with the movie. It should have had more of Charles and his growing awareness of his role in the human rights movement. More study of the creative processes behind developing his music. Who knows? Maybe they were scared of topping three hours, but at two and a half hours in running time, the movie certainly didn't seem its length. Whatever weaknesses the film had, though, were in writing and, occasionally, directing. Too much attention was paid to the messing around Charles was famous for, and his needle and the damage done.

It's inarguable that Foxx has just set the bar for both the singer-actor and the art of bio acting. For once, the portrayal has been done by an actor who possesses every bit of the charisma, flash, and substance needed to play the role.

There's murmuring of Oscar contention, for whatever that is worth. I've generally been opposed to the idea of a bio-pic actor getting the nod for an Oscar. I think it's in "creating" a role that an actor makes it his own, and that is what deserves reward. In bio pics, though, they're given a roadmap. To a layman like myself, it just seems like a cop-out to hand the Oscar to some dude playing some other dude.

However, Foxx might be worthy of the brass. He was extraordinary in his ability to channel Charles not only on the screen but on the wax. His singing performances were phenomenal and his presence during them was utterly engaging.

It's about time Hollywood figured out there are more black actors who can carry a movie than just Will Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, and Denzel Washington. I think Don Cheadle and Jamie Foxx deserve many more great roles, and perhaps, with their recent films (Hotel Rwanda, and both Ray and Collateral, respectively) their time in the limelight is here.

And maybe, just maybe, more roles simply written for great actors will be applicable to more fine black men (and women), and not just their white counterparts. Hollywood has one hell of a long way to go, but perhaps that trip is finally underway.