Watching two and a half-hour epic starting at 11.30pm could have been a mistake. Luckily the talent of one Mr Jamie Foxx, and the musical genius that is Ray Charles, was enough to rescue the rest of the theatre-goers from my loud snores. This story of Ray Charles’ life was told in simple terms chronologically and interspersed with flashbacks (often introduced quite suddenly.) The film appeared to be fairly honest – allowing even for Ray’s affairs, his heroine addiction and the betrayal of his most loyal friends and business associates.

Jamie Foxx played Ray with great energy and accuracy and although he was not able to showcase his own voice, he was able to demonstrate his tremendous talent on the piano. It was almost kind of creepy how eerily Foxx resembled Mr Charles. One of the other stand out performances, far outweighing actual screen time, was that of Sharon Warren as Ray’s mother Aretha. The pain, emotion and strength that she emanated often had me sniffling into my tissues.