Raymond & Ray
Half brothers Raymond and Ray reunite when their estranged father dies—and discover that his final wish was for them to dig his grave. Together, they process who they’ve become as men, both because of their father and in spite of him.
- Released: 2022-10-14
- Runtime: 106 minutes
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- Stars: Ewan McGregor, Ethan Hawke, Maribel Verdú, Sophie Okonedo, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Todd Louiso, Tom Bower, Maxim Swinton, Chris Silcox, Chris Grabher, Oscar Núñez, Angie Campbell, Gina Jun, Laura Linda Bradley, Aaron Angus, Angela Deiss, Jim Meisner Jr., Mike Bailey, Lamont Gonzalez-Sierra, Lyeneal Griffin, Marisol Correa
- Director: Rodrigo García
Comments
- Pjtaylor-96-138044 - 8 November 2022
Chekhov's trumpet.
'Raymond & Ray (2022)' is a film about two brothers who travel to their estranged father's funeral in order to finally bury the old man once and for all. As one of them points out, though, it's going to take a lot more than putting him in the ground to get him out of their heads. The film really lives and dies by the strength of its central performances, especially considering how certifiably clumsy the screenplay can be at times. Thankfully, both McGreggor and Hawke are great here, especially Hawke (perhaps primarily because he doesn't have to wrestle with an affected accent). They're essentially the pole-bearers for the picture, admirably carrying it to its final resting place: the 'watch it again' category on Apple TV+ (I'm not sure if the service actually does have that category, but I think the joke still stands). Sadly, the only way it will ever move out of that category is if the service automatically deletes it after a period of inactivity, because it's an incredibly forgettable affair that doesn't have all that much rewatch value. It's not a bad effort, though. In fact, it's a rather enjoyable and well-executed experience that has a lot of good ideas and comes close to being really good on occasion. It's funny at times and emotionally affecting at others, but it's mostly just solid stuff that's never boring but is also never particularly exciting. It's a good effort despite its general air of above-average mediocrity, the kind of oxymoronic overlay that's present on films that are technically sound and generally entertaining but don't quite do enough to elevate themselves above their peers. Still, it's performances are strong across the board and it occasionally inspires a chuckle or a cry (internally, at least). It's enjoyable enough for what it is.
