Raymond & Ray

Greetings again from the darkness. Hey, you know that Dad we hated ... the one that ruined our lives? Well, he died and I need you to come with me to the funeral. Writer-director Rodrigo Garcia (ALBERT NOBBS, 2011) starts his film in this manner by having Raymond knock on the door of his half-brother Ray's cabin door in the middle of the night. They haven't seen each other in five years, but their shared bond is an ill will towards the father who stirred such misery during their childhood that neither have made much of their time since. Raymond (Ewan McGregor) is a persnickety type; a pent-up bundle of anxiety who has gone through a couple of divorces and is currently separated from his third wife. Ray (4-time Oscar nominee Ethan Hawke) is his opposite - the former addict (7 years sober) puts off the ultra-cool guy vibe with rumpled clothes, tousled hair, and non-stop flirtations. His talent with music was never encouraged by the father and has since been a source of frustration. In other words, these two grown men are messes due to the resentment they've carried for their father and his inexcusably poor parenting. At first, we assume the two men are going to sit around reminiscing about their horrible memories of dear old dad. Instead, they hop in the car and head out of town to the funeral. It's here where they begin to piece together the last years of their father's life. Bedridden at the end, he had a room in a former (and younger) lover's house. Lucia (an excellent Maribel Verdu, Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, 2001) welcomes the men with the surprise disclosure that her young son is their half-brother. At the viewing, they meet dad's nurse Kiera (the always terrific Sophie Okonedo). No, she doesn't have another half-brother for them, but she zeroes in on Ray and his approach to the proceedings. More surprises await Ray and Raymond, not the least of which is that dad's final wish was for them to dig his grave by hand. At the grave site, they are joined by dad's flamboyant pastor (Vondie Curtis Hall), as well as others with a bond to the man in the pine box. Most of these people are unknown to Ray and Raymond, and they begin to realize the man they've held in contempt went on to live a full life. Veteran actor Tom Bower has limited screen time as the dad, and overall the cast is strong and deserving of a script that could take the topic and these characters much deeper. Hawke is especially good as the brother holding in so many emotions, while McGregor plays off of him quite well. While there is nothing here we haven't seen before, we do wish the cast had more to work with. The film will have a limited theatrical release on October 14, 2022 prior to screening on AppleTV+ beginning October 21, 2022.

source: Raymond & Ray

I was sceptical because of all the mixed reviews but the movie was very, very enjoyable. Great pace and interesting story :) Loved it. I guess you have to watch it to decide if it's worth or not. It's not that dramatic but it's taken serious enough. Also the actors work perfectly with each other. I even feel like I didn't have enough in their world. I even wish this movie was 2 hours and 30 minutes long. Enjoyed the conversations and the "lessons" that the characters had to take with each encounter. People get broken and hurt by relatives and carry that burden until they realize they didn't have to.

Edited: I was still thinking about this movie the day after I watched it and might watch it again; So I must like it... It's a little surreal for me remembering that these guys were once Todd Anderson in Dead Poets Society and young Renton in Trainspotting back in the day. I'm in the same age group and I don't feel that old lol... This was a much better movie than I thought it would be. I wish it would've been released in the theaters because I would've gone to see it. There is one change I would have made to th ending, that disappointed me at first. That is why I am editing this review. Overall I would definitely recommend the movie.

This is a brilliant comedy drama for the whole family... The characters, men and women, are very well drawn, each one with coherent and identifiable aspects, the result of their past. Ewan and Hawk are great actors, but the other cast, specially the female parts are not always/really up to their level. But it does not spoil the movie. There are no good no bad people, just what life offers them, and what they make out of it. Some take opportunities, some take excuses, some blame somebody else. In the end, when time ends a life, its time for everbody to make his point. The movie has hilarious situations, which could have been from the Coen Brothers. Each scene has its true originality, no stupid gags, no cheap jokes... A burial with so many true dialogs, about true and false feelings. I will surely ask my kids to watch this movie after my funeral, and as a condition to claim the inheritance, lol, and hope they will have so much fun as I did. I force myself through hundreds of boring movies waiting to meet someday a jewel like this. One of the best intelligent movies of 2022.

I was very surprised by this movie. I can see why all these good actors and actresses were drawn to this story. It's very much a slice of real life. Life is complicated, ugly, and beautiful at the same time. I found myself being surprised at every turn, some thing that rarely happens in movies today. I like the message that families are not always what you expect them to be. And sometimes it's nice to let go of our bitterness and hate of the past. Our parents and grandparents were not experts at childhood development; they made mistakes just like we do. Life is complicated it can be dirty sometimes, but the end result sometimes is a recipe for success.

"Raymond" (Ewan McGregor) arrives at the home of his step-brother "Ray" (Ethan Hawke) to declare that their rather brutish father has died. The former feels duty bound to go to the funeral - if only to see the man is dead - and after a bit of prevaricating, manages to convince his brother to attend too. Upon arrival, they discover that they are to inherit his (very) modest fortune, but the condition is that they must dig his grave, put his coffin into it, then cover it up afterwards. Despite generally despising this man, they go along with it and as the time for the interment approaches they discover that their late dad had quite a skill for making sons. The youngest being fathered with the younger "Lucia" (Maribel Verdú) with whom he ended up living at his demise and another set of rather acrobatic twins show up too. When it is just the two men on screen, there is a degree of intimacy and chemistry that works well - we get a sense of not just how nasty their father was, but of just how impactful his behaviour had been on his children - and on their own less than successful marital relationships. When the cast broadens out more though, the story loses that potency and we end up with a rather muddled series of character studies all centring around the behaviour of a man who isn't actually here for us to evaluate ourselves. There are some lovely jazz numbers - "Ray" bring skilful with the trumpet, and the production is stylish but somehow the whole thing is just a bit lacklustre.

This isn't the movie you're looking for. Slow, not engaging and lacking the charm that the trailer promises. Ethan is great, Ewan didn't match his energy. Really wanted to like this even as a drama (although I was hoping for more moments of humor), but it fell flat. The message got lost and actually never really delivered a message. It highlights a family full of trauma but doesn't deliver the redemption you'd expect. I wanted to like this and get like there would be more chemistry on screen, but it quickly steered into quirky territory that just felt awkward. Let's bury this one and move on.

This movie (Raymond & Ray) was terribly boring. The actors are great but the story is terrible and it goes nowhere. It´s dreary, glum and depressing. I wish I hadn´t wasted my time watching it until the end in case it got better. Why would they want to make a movie out of this script? The movie feels like a theatre play and there isn´t anything wrong with that per se, but there is no point to it. There is no great revelation, nor any twist. It left a bad feeling in my mouth being so depressing. Normally Apple movies and tv shows are a guarantee of quality but it´s not the case even if the actors are great.

Longest 120 minutes ever. Two hours waiting for something to happen, nothing did!! I'll watch it again just before bed, should be a good sleep!! Really struggling to make this review long enough to be published, sorry it's dragged on so long, but it does resemble the film!! I can't remember anything more to say about it but I need 500 five letters to qualify. I'm glad I'm not suicidal or this would definitely push me over the edge. Sorry I've nothing else to say I have to copy an paste it. Longest 120 minutes ever. Two hours waiting for something to happen, nothing did!! I'll watch it again just before bed, should be a good sleep!! Really struggling to make this review long enough to be published, sorry it's dragged on so long, but it does resemble the film!! I can't remember anything more to say about it but I need 500 five letters to qualify. I'm glad I'm not suicidal or this would definitely push me over the edge. Sorry I've nothing else to say I have to copy an paste it.