Connie's Warwick Davis Fanpage and Leprechaun Center

Ray

Ray (Working title: Unchain My Heart)
Released October 29, 2004
Directed by Taylor Hackford
Starring Jamie Foxx, Regina King, Kerry Washington

I went into this Ray Charles biopic not sure that I was really up to watching 2½ hours of his life story, but I came away greatly entertained. Jamie Foxx turns in a stellar performance in the title role. I did have some problems with the script, though; in spite of a few powerful moments it was emotionally flat overall. The hallucination-flashback technique that was used to depict Ray's childhood was rather annoying, especially since many of these flashbacks occurred at moments that didn't seem to call for them. But in the end none of this mattered because the MUSIC was so damned glorious. The movie delivered the songs at frequent intervals in the master's own voice, and there was never a dull moment while that was going on.

Warwick Davis fans get the reward they're looking for early on, because he shows up about ten minutes into the film and appears frequently for about fifteen minutes thereafter, and all this visibility is accompanied by a considerable amount of dialogue. It's a memorable part, too. Within moments his character, Oberon, fires up a cigarette and hands it to Ray, but they're not puffing on tobacco! For someone who's a nonsmoker in real life, poor Warwick has to spend an awful lot of time lighting up for the camera. Besides introducing Ray to the pleasures of wicked weed, Oberon plays a significant role in other ways. As the emcee at The Rocking Chair, the small Seattle nightclub where Ray makes his first attempt at an independent career, he in effect introduces Ray Charles to the world. Later he passes along some information that helps Ray advance his career, and writes himself out of the story in the process; once Ray leaves Seattle, Oberon is never seen again.

At least that's the movie's version of events, but according to this Seattle Times article it's all pretty much fiction. While Ray did seek success in Seattle, his first gig there was apparently at a different club; he worked at The Rocking Chair later, and was not exploited by the people there. In addition, the article says that The Rocking Chair did not have a dwarf emcee, and the director borrowed this detail from a famous jazz club back east.

Truth or fiction, it's great to see Warwick at work in a realistic late-1940s scenario. We get to see his real face of course, but although his features are natural he does a bit of tampering with his voice. Oberon isn't English, so we have a rare opportunity to hear Warwick putting on an American accent.

The majority of movie reviewers don't mention Warwick's part in the movie, but Roger Ebert does!

For more on the movie, see the official site and IMDb.

The Pictures section includes some screen captures from the movie, and there are some audio clips in Sound Clips.