I've learned that the only way to get any serious movie-watching done these days with a wild little 1-year old taking over the place...is to do it in the middle of the night while he's most assuredly unconscious. So I watched 'Ray' last night. Finally.
Words elude me...I guess I'm not much of a review writer. What can I say that will bring this movie more to life? It was powerfully moving. It takes a lot to "move" me. And this movie did it.
Motherhood: Ray's mother was strong, heavily beaten-down with hard work. She raised Ray to be strong, even in the face of insurmountable obstacles. In once scene, shortly after Ray had become blind as a 7-year old, he tripped and fell, within 15 feet of his mother. Crying out for her, "I need you!" She saw him trip and heard him call, and her first reaction was to run to help him. But she hesitated, and watched him instead. She watched him as he found himself to be alone, collect himself, wipe away the tears, then set out to make sense of the dark world around him. In silent tears, she watched him reach his arms out to regain a sense of his surroundings. He groped around, listening carefully. He heard a bug, and she cried as he grasped around for it, grabbed it, held it up to his ear, and listened with utmost satisfaction. His sense of hearing had become so keen. He said, "I hear you too, Mother. You're right there." She ran to him and gave him the biggest, teariest hug ever. had been so hard for her to watch him struggle, but by standing by and letting him learn, she did a great service to him. And he loved her a ton for it.
There are so many other points to the story that touched me. Time presses me to get on with my day, so I'll stop for now.