Produced by Alfonso Cauron and directed by Rodrigo Garcia, who has had some wins on the board with the involvement in the likes of hit TV shows In Treatment, The Affair and features Albert Nobbs and Mother and Child, Apple original Raymond and Ray appeared set to be on of 2022's dramatic streaming hits but despite the talented cast and prestige on board, this wannabe tearjerker fails to hit home.
Gifting us the chance to see beloved performers Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke work off one another and chew on a dialogue heavy script (also written by Garcia), Raymond and Ray is a family centred drama that starts off slow and never finds another gear from its uneasy beginnings that follows McGregor's Raymond and Hawke's Ray, two estranged brothers bought together once more by the passing of their unloving father whose last request was too see his two boys dig his own grave and officially lay him to rest.
The type of set-up that could've been the perfect mix of darkly comic musings and examinations of families torn apart but bought together by mutual tragedy and life lessons, Garcia's film might have been both an audience favourite and an awards contending affair had its stars aligned in a more memorable fashion but there's an inability for the film throughout its 100 minute runtime to find its heart and soul and in turn give McGregor, Hawke and the likes of Sophie Okonedo and Maribel Verdu material for them to work with in any significant way.
Trying their best but striking an uneasy chemistry at its peak, McGregor and Hawke don't come close to giving us the type of likeable and relatable turns they have made a career out of bringing to life with both Ray's lost souls living sad and lonely lives and while Garcia is trying to give them a learning arc here as they dig their fathers grave and come across various characters their father had come across and struck up relationships with in the time since they gave up on him, the Ray's plight never grips us the way the film was crying out for as we forge a slow and unmemorable trotting towards a familiar ending.
So far striking a relatively good track record with original product both in the short and long forms of releases, Apple like the audiences who tune in to Raymond and Ray will be disappointed this character driven drama failed to dig up anything worthwhile.
Final Say -
A waste of talent before and behind the camera, Raymond and Ray may mean well but its failure as a comedic or dramatic venture makes this Apple release an easy too miss proposal.
2 Polaroid's out of 5
Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys)
Gifting us the chance to see beloved performers Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke work off one another and chew on a dialogue heavy script (also written by Garcia), Raymond and Ray is a family centred drama that starts off slow and never finds another gear from its uneasy beginnings that follows McGregor's Raymond and Hawke's Ray, two estranged brothers bought together once more by the passing of their unloving father whose last request was too see his two boys dig his own grave and officially lay him to rest.
The type of set-up that could've been the perfect mix of darkly comic musings and examinations of families torn apart but bought together by mutual tragedy and life lessons, Garcia's film might have been both an audience favourite and an awards contending affair had its stars aligned in a more memorable fashion but there's an inability for the film throughout its 100 minute runtime to find its heart and soul and in turn give McGregor, Hawke and the likes of Sophie Okonedo and Maribel Verdu material for them to work with in any significant way.
Trying their best but striking an uneasy chemistry at its peak, McGregor and Hawke don't come close to giving us the type of likeable and relatable turns they have made a career out of bringing to life with both Ray's lost souls living sad and lonely lives and while Garcia is trying to give them a learning arc here as they dig their fathers grave and come across various characters their father had come across and struck up relationships with in the time since they gave up on him, the Ray's plight never grips us the way the film was crying out for as we forge a slow and unmemorable trotting towards a familiar ending.
So far striking a relatively good track record with original product both in the short and long forms of releases, Apple like the audiences who tune in to Raymond and Ray will be disappointed this character driven drama failed to dig up anything worthwhile.
Final Say -
A waste of talent before and behind the camera, Raymond and Ray may mean well but its failure as a comedic or dramatic venture makes this Apple release an easy too miss proposal.
2 Polaroid's out of 5
Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys)