Raymond & Ray (2022)

Raymond & Ray (2022). Raymond & Ray: Directed by Rodrigo García. With Ewan McGregor, Jalyn Baiden, Ethan Hawke, Laura Linda Bradley. 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.

“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 Rayu0026#39;s cabin door in the middle of the night. They havenu0026#39;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.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRaymond (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 theyu0026#39;ve carried for their father and his inexcusably poor parenting.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAt 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. Itu0026#39;s here where they begin to piece together the last years of their fatheru0026#39;s life. Bedridden at the end, he had a room in a former (and younger) loveru0026#39;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 dadu0026#39;s nurse Kiera (the always terrific Sophie Okonedo). No, she doesnu0026#39;t have another half-brother for them, but she zeroes in on Ray and his approach to the proceedings.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMore surprises await Ray and Raymond, not the least of which is that dadu0026#39;s final wish was for them to dig his grave by hand. At the grave site, they are joined by dadu0026#39;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 theyu0026#39;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 havenu0026#39;t seen before, we do wish the cast had more to work with.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film will have a limited theatrical release on October 14, 2022 prior to screening on AppleTV+ beginning October 21, 2022.”