Raymond and Ray (2022)

Feature film up next on Apple TV plus. It's called Raymonds and Ray, and you are going to tell us about it. Hannah, our father is dead. His last wish was that his sons attend his funeral. We have to go. He's dead. He'll never know.

You're a very tender man. You know that. Okay. Your father's last will. It wasn't his wish that you dig his grave.

What, So this starts Ethan Hawk and also you McGregor. Um, and it's a, it's a really nice but sad tale I would say. So it's produced by Oscar winner Alfonzo Kuron Quran. I think that's how you pronounce it.

Um, and it just basically follows. Two very troubled brothers. They're half brothers and they both kind of, for years I suppose, and that sort of very stereotypical male style sort of held it all in and not talked about their, their growing up and their resentment of their, of their father. He was very cruel.

Um, he was abusive and they come together when he passes away, which of course, you know, does happen to a lot of. And, um, there's no great, you know, there's not a lot of tears for the father because he is not so particularly decent human being, but they make a road trip to his to see him buried and he has some final wishes, including them, um, actually digging his grave.

But there's lots of things that they said. First of all, you're kind of a fly on the wall, I suppose, for their journey and what they're talking about. And as those sort of, the very kind of emotional stuff of when they're talking. What's happened in their childhood and actually for the first time, reliving lots of it.

That's really quite emotional. And then there's some really sort of comedic parts as well, um, which is, and I don't wanna give too much away, but it's kind of meeting the people in their father's path that they never knew existed and, and almost, um, showing them a different side of the father that they hadn't, that they hadn't seen.

So this is kind of all about healing. Um, as I say, it's quite comedic in places. I thought it was really quite enjoyable. I could see, I could see a lot of people relating to this, and of course, Ethan Hawk and you and McGregor, when I sort of started to look at this, they wanted, Well, I think they came onto the scene at a similar time in terms of their acting and they've always wanted to work together, but it's taken them quite a long time to actually do this, and they do gel really, really well.

That there is a, um, A closeness between them that works very well, um, as them being brothers. So I, I thought it was, I thought it was really very good. What did he think in?

I really liked it. Two great actors. At one point, one of the characters says, We come from chaos because you get increasingly, you get glimpses into this horrendous parent that they had and what their upbringing was like.

But they've reacted in different ways. So you and McGregor's character, Raymonds is quite sort of straight and he likes his life to be very ordered and boring. But he's had, he's been married several times. Whereas his sibling Ray is a musician. He's got sat from his job. He's just not in a relationship.

He hasn't got any kids. So they've, each of them's reacted to this traumatic childhood in quite a different way. And the two of them are great together. I mean, McGregor has done lots of good stuff in an American accent, hasn't knee, including that brilliant series of Fargo where he played twin brothers.

Uh, and it slightly reminded me of that in a funny way. So yeah, it's got some nice comedic moments. It's, it's got the feel of a road movie. Even though as you say Hannah, it's only the first bit. That's kind of the road movie element when they go to. The funeral, but they're in all these new, they're in their dad's house and they're at the funeral part, and then they're going to the cemetery to dig the grave, and it's just really nicely done.

Great dialogue. Elements of it, almost have the feel of a sort of two-handed. Stage play, especially the first scene where, where, uh, Raymonds turns up at Ray's house, Ray comes to the door with a gum. So yeah, I think it's, it's very gentle. It's aic really nicely drawn characters, good performances, thoroughly enjoyed it.