Writer/Director Rodrigo García's moving new film, "Raymond & Ray," has its title characters (Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke, respectively) attending the funeral of their father, Harris (Tom Bower). Harris was not a good father to either son — he was often abusive to them — but Raymond feels an obligation, and Ray grudgingly goes along. What they discover about their father, and themselves, forms the basis of this melancholic comedy.
García's film is about fathers and sons, and it certainly tackles the thorniness that can estrange children and their parents. Raymond exhibits a more forgiving nature, which is counterbalanced by Ray's bitterness. (McGregor's performance is tightly wound, while Hawke is playful and soulful.) As these adult men accede to their father's last wishes — which includes digging his grave — they come to know who their dad was through other people, including Lucia (Maribel Verdú of "Y Tu Mama Tambien"), his last lover, and Kiera (Sophie Okonedo) his nurse.
