Raymond & Ray Movie Review: Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke’s Funeral Comedy Buried in Clichés

There’s nothing inherently cinematic about this film, promising a tantalizing team-up of Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke, but pitting them in a story riddled with so many clichés. Just reducing it to a broad caricature ends before the brothers get into a friendly fistfight for the first time.

McGregor’s Raymond is a straight man and a “boring” foil to Hawk’s more conniving Ray. “We came from chaos,” one said bluntly to the other, and at the hands of his father I mentioned the years of abuse they endured, but also as an explanation for why neither of their lives turned out the way they had envisioned.

The film ends with Raymond showing up at Ray’s house to travel 200 miles across the country to attend his funeral, for reasons the architect of their misery has passed away, and which they themselves know best. Start by letting him know you have to. This is also when the film introduces the first in a series of plot twists, which become increasingly annoying as things progress. ), Raymond tells him that his driver’s license has been suspended. Why can’t your wife drive you, Ray shoots back.

This is the first scene, but there are many moments like this in Raymond & Ray that exist only to keep basic logic from getting in the way of the plot’s progress. However, as lazy as this was, it would have been lazier to get Rei to agree to the expedition without showing any protest.

Later, both brothers are conveniently assigned their respective love interests, as if focusing on that character’s personal growth in moments of crisis like this wasn’t enough. In particular, Garcia feared people would ask for a refund (or cancel the free plan). Apple TV+ subscriptions) if you didn’t believe Raymond & Ray checked all the boxes (such as packaged foods that need to meet certain criteria).

However, there is an interesting premise here. Even in death, Raymond and Ray’s dad didn’t stop messing with them. was planned in great detail. From choosing a cheap coffin to deciding that his tombstone would not mention his date of birth and death and mandating that he be buried face down naked, their father He put a questionable level of thought into this. They had to physically dig his grave, with no machinery or help.

I’m sure this is some sort of metaphor for letting go of the past — designed as a selfish act of redemption, so to speak — but I suspect there’s more than the most obvious interpretation. By the way, Garcia’s father is Gabriel Garcia Marquez. So make it what you want.

Like the Hindi movie, Raymond and Ray are split into two parts, the second of which is spent almost entirely in the cemetery. It is in these scenes that the film’s distinctive tone begins to take shape. The film has a jazz-infused melancholy that sticks its head out at times. But for the most part, Raymond & Ray is just as much fun as the funeral itself.

Raymond & Ray
directed by – Rodrigo Garcia
cast – Ewan McGregor, Ethan Hawke
evaluation – 2.5/5