History Film / Ray

* TearJerker: The death of George, Ray’s little brother.
** During Ray’s hallucination of his mother and brother, George tells him “It wasn’t your fault”

** Ray really did kick his heroin habit after going into treatment, but the film omits his heavy use of marijuana and gin as substitutes for the remainder of his life.

** Throughout the film, Ray has spontaneous nervous breakdowns triggered by the memory of his brother and it even kind of suggests it may have been what caused his blindness. Ray was indeed thoroughly depressed throughout his life (hence the drug habit). And while his depression mainly stemmed from George's death and that of his mother, both of which were the "two great tragedies" of his life, Ray's blindness was merely because of glaucoma and would've still likely occurred regardless.

* OneMarioLimit: In-universe. Ray uses his first and middle name as a StageName instead of his full name, Ray Charles Robinson, so he wouldn't be confused with famed boxer "Sugar Ray" Robinson.

* NamesTheSame: In-universe. Ray uses his first and middle name as a StageName instead of his full name, Ray Charles Robinson, so he wouldn't be confused with famed boxer "Sugar Ray" Robinson.

* WartsAndAll: Ray Charles was given a braille copy of the script to read before production began, and he only objected to two scenes: the original draft had him being forced to learn piano (he expressed an interest on his own) and had him sharing drugs with Margie Hendricks (he refused to let her try heroin because he knew what it was doing to him). Other than that, the script was unchanged and included his ruthless business dealings, adultery, and struggles with addiction.

** Ray did conceive a child, Charles Wayne Hendricks, with his backing singer Margie Hendricks (played by Creator/ReginaKing), but he never asked her to have an abortion like he did in the film and welcomed any child he had whether from his wife Della or otherwise. Also, Margie Hendricks died in 1973, not 1964/65 like in the film.

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: Wilbur, the manager during Ray's time at Swing Time Records, tells band leader Lowell Folsom that Ray's music won't even hit the charts.

* SexualExtortion: The club owner at a nightclub Ray is employed at exploits him like this, demanding sex in exchange for work.
* StealingFromTheTill: Ray fires [[spoiler: Jeff]] for ripping off his money.

* ObfuscatingStupidity: Ray demonstrates what he calls "Country Dumb" to make people underestimate him, both to test Ahmet Ertegun's forthrightness as well as squeeze out a deal "better than [[Music/FrankSinatra Sinatra]] gets" from [[Creator/ABCRecords ABC-Paramount]].

* StealingFromTheTill: Ray fires a manager for ripping off his money.

* BedmateReveal: As Ray takes a phone call while he prepares another heroin fix, we see his bedmate sit up and ask "Is that your wife?"

* MononymousBiopicTitle: "Ray", naturally

** Throughout the film, Ray has spontaneous nervous breakdowns triggered by the memory of his brother drowning and it even kind of suggests it may have been what triggered his blindness. Ray was indeed thoroughly depressed throughout his life (hence the drug habit). And while his depression mainly stemmed from George's death and that of his mother when he was 14, both of which he cited as the "two great tragedies" of his life, Ray's blindness was merely the result of glaucoma and would've still likely occurred regardless of any other hardships he ever endured.

** David "Fathead" Newman (1933–2009), played by Creator/Bokeem Woodbine in the film, praised Foxx's performance as Charles, but has disputed the accuracy of the film's portrayal of him, particularly the scene where he introduces Ray to heroin.

** David "Fathead" Newman (1933–2009), played by [[Creator/Bokeem Woodbine]] in the film, praised Foxx's performance as Charles, but has disputed the accuracy of the film's portrayal of him, particularly the scene where he introduces Ray to heroin.

** David "Fathead" Newman (1933–2009), played by Bokeem Woodbine in the film, praised Foxx's performance as Charles, but has disputed the accuracy of the film's portrayal of him, particularly the scene where he introduces Ray to heroin.

* StealingFromTheTill: Ray fires a manager for ripping off his money

* AdultFear: When his first son is born, Ray (who's blind) asks Della Bea if he has every body organ intact.

The 2004 {{Biopic}} based on the life and career of legendary R&B musician Music/RayCharles, who passed away shortly before its release. [[InMemoriam The film is dedicated to him.]]

** Related to that, Ray had ''12'' children with ''10'' different women (3 with wife Della), but only two of these extramarital affairs get any significant focus (Mary Ann Fisher and Margie Hendrix) and only one of these illegitimate children is referred to. Additionally, he and Della divorced in 1977, but are depicted as still together at the film's conclusion, which took place in 1979.

** David "Fathead" Newman (1933–2009), played by Bokeem Woodbine in the film, praised Foxx's performance as Charles, but has disputed the accuracy of the film's portrayal of himself, particularly the scene where he introduces Ray to heroin.

!!Tropes featured in this film include:

** The scene where Ray decides to never play for segregated audiences has him persuaded by a single protester. In reality, Ray was convinced to not perform at segregated concerts via telegrams from civil rights groups, not a live street demonstration. Despite this, Ray would later accept invitations to play before segregated audiences. Additionally, Ray was never banned from playing in the state of Georgia in 1961, doing so countless times afterward. As such, the Georgia state legislature's "resolution" to overturn that ban never occurred in 1979. Ray's rendition of "Georgia On My Mind" did, however, become the official state song.

*** Related to that, Ray had ''12'' children with ''10'' different women (3 with wife Della), but only two of these extramarital affairs get any significant focus (Mary Ann Fisher and Margie Hendrix) and only one of these illegitimate children is referred to. Additionally, he and Della divorced in 1977, but are depicted as still together at the film's conclusion, which took place in 1979.

* MononymousBiopicTitle: "Ray," naturally

* ObfuscatingStupidity: Ray demonstrates what he calls 'Country Dumb' to make people underestimate him, both to test Ahmet Ertegun's forthrightness as well as squeeze out a deal "better than [[Music/FrankSinatra Sinatra]] gets" from [[Creator/ABCRecords ABC-Paramount]].
* PoorMansSubstitute: InUniverse. Ray's first recording sessions for Creator/AtlanticRecords are a disappointment, as he is clearly trying to be a knockoff of other, more famous singers. "No one wants another Music/NatKingCole," Atlantic songwriter and arranger Jesse Stone groans.

* ObfuscatingStupidity: Ray demonstrates what he calls 'Country Dumb' to make people underestimate him, both to test Ahmet Ertegun's forthrightness as well as squeeze out a deal "better than Sinatra gets" from [=ABC-Paramount=].
* PoorMansSubstitute: InUniverse. Ray's first recording sessions for Creator/AtlanticRecords are a disappointment, as he is clearly trying to be a knockoff of other, more famous singers. "No one wants another Nat King Cole," Atlantic songwriter and arranger Jesse Stone groans.

** Throughout the film, Ray has random nervous breakdowns triggered by the memory of his brother's death and suggests it may even be the reason he went blind. Ray Charles was thoroughly depressed throughout his adult life (hence his drug habit) and while George's death certainly affected him, his depression was believed to have mainly stemmed from his mother's passing when he was 14. His blindness was the result of glaucoma and would've still likely occurred even if George never drowned.

** David "Fathead" Newman (1933–2009), played by Bokeem Woodbine in the film, praised Foxx's performance as Charles, but has disputed the accuracy of the film's portrayal of him, particularly the scene where he introduces Ray to heroin.

** The scene where Ray decides to never play for segregated audiences has him persuaded by a single protester. In reality, Ray was convinced to not perform at segregated concerts via telegrams from civil rights groups, not a live street demonstration. Ray, however, did accept later invitations to play before segregated audiences. Additionally, Ray was never banned from playing in the state of Georgia in 1961, doing so countless times afterward. As such, the Georgia state legislature's "resolution" to overturn that ban never occurred in 1979. Ray's rendition of "Georgia On My Mind" did, however, become the official state song.