‘Raymond & Ray’ movie review: Ewan McGregor, Ethan Hawke struggle to save cliched funeral

Funeral dramedy has been a longtime mainstay in Hollywood’s swirling template of exploring the messy family dynamics. It has also made its way into Bollywood, and this blueprint is effective when used as a starting point to dig deeper into a story. However, in Raymond and Ray, Director Rodrigo García doesn’t stray an inch from the established beats, making the film an insignificant watch.

Half-brothers Raymond (Ewan McGregor) and Ray (Ethan Hawke) are forced to confront the ties they share with each other, and with their father, a will in his will after his death. Peculiar request is abandoned. When Raymond informs Ray of his father’s death, he asks if he died “by his own hands”. Only 20 minutes later, the lawyer informs him that his father’s final wish was for Raymond and Ray to actually dig his grave by hand.

a metaphor? A poorly disguised ridicule? Although this wish can be interpreted, it is Harris’ final act of abuse as the father of Raymond and Ray (the long list includes Harris giving both of his sons the same name). This is also one of the few attempts that the film makes to add humour; Most of the other examples are derived from Raymond and Ray constantly clashing against each other.

In the predictable dynamic between one bullied son and another who couldn’t care less, McGregor hides behind a dutiful kid’s garb as Raymond who, despite years of abuse at the hands of his father, continues to do so. Proceeds to “the right thing”. Hawks Ray openly opposes this behavior and the father who produced it. In addition to being a clichéd way to write a pairing of siblings, Hawke and McGregor’s impressive performances are further damaged when the writing begins to repeat itself.

Their relationship presents itself on a singular level, with Raymond continually displaying an emotional naivete, then thinking aloud about his feelings for Harris, and Ray reacting with thinly-veiled hatred for his father. . They do this many times; At Ray’s house, while driving to the funeral, and at the cemetery itself. Often this conversation ends with Ray erupting in anger and provoking Raymond. However, multiple iterations of the same cycle of dialogues do not add any new dimensions. It is abundantly made clear that the two share the pain of a broken home and a less than perfect father. But the writing never seems to want to get any deeper and the result is a conversation that takes place at the water cooler between friendly colleagues.

Garcia also doesn’t find much creativity or sensitivity in how he reveals Harris’ abusive tendencies toward Raymond and Ray. Instead, most of the audience gets to know through exhibition dumps. Despite running for 1.45 hours, the film feels impatient as both the brothers completely vent their feelings to find the first lady.

In the second half of the film, as the brothers dig deeper into the grave, more skeletons emerge from their father’s cell. Raymond and Ray not only learn that their father was a gentler, more loving person at the end of his life, but they also meet more half-brothers. It Almost Manages To Feel Like McGregor Stepped Into His Own Version August: Osage County!

While García manages to tick every box in the funeral theatrical style (strange road trips, multiple family outbursts, scandalous secrets, and a horrific ritual directed at the concerned dead), he fails to offer anything new in the film. remains, rendering a similar picture to its predecessors.

Raymond and Ray now on AppleTV+. streaming on