Ray Donovan: The Complete Series:
If you have a problem you need taken care of from collecting money to squashing a story to covering up a murder Ray Donovan (played by Liev Schreiber) is your guy. He, and his two assistants, Avi (played by Steven Bauer) and Lena (played by Katherine Moennig), is able to fix any trouble you might be having and does just that for the rich and famous in L.A. A transplant from Boston to Los Angeles, Ray is from a family that is what people typically think of as Irish-American in that they were boxers, Catholic, like to drink, and in trouble with the law. He and his two brothers, Terry (played by Eddie Marsan) and Bunchy (played by Dash Mihok), have stuck together as their mother got sick and died when they were young, their sister Bridget committed suicide when she was young and their father, Mickey (played by John Voight), has been in jail for murder for a long time. After not having the best start in life, Ray has created a nice life for himself with his wife, Abby (played by Paula Malcomson), and their two kids, Bridget (played by Kerris Dorsey) and Conor (played by Devon Bagby). Everything is going rather smoothly until his father is released from prison early and comes to Los Angeles to reconnect with his sons and grandkids. Now the fixer is going to need help fixing his own life.
Rough and tumble, Ray Donovan is not for the faint of heart. Ray Donovan is basically an Irish mob tale about one guy who uses whatever means required to handle the problems of lawyers, actors, professional athletes, and other rich or famous types. It is the personal side of things that makes it an interesting watch.
The strength of the series has always been that it asks brainpower of its audience not spoon feeding us all the answers. We are expected to keep up and figure some things out on our own. There is plenty that goes unspoken on an intellectual and emotional level.
It also portrays a rather realistic family. Ok, so we all don’t have a father who is a fixer or live in a huge house in Hollywood, but many have rather messed up families. Families in which the father is removed from things on a day-to-day basis. Grandfathers who are always getting in trouble. Teenage daughters who test their boundaries. Teenage sons who go overboard in their attempts to be a man. Uncles who are sick. Uncles who have addiction problems. A mother with cancer. This is the family in Ray Donovan and it is not unlike ours in some respects. We can relate to what they are going through as a family.
Family dysfunction is at the heart of Ray Donovan, the show I mean. Yes, there is the whole violence and Hollywood life aspect, but truly this is about the Donovan family. Two generations, father and sons, caught in a whirlpool of violence, lies and boxing. The dynamics here have made each man who they are. Trapped. Not able to get out of the downward cycle. That might frustrate some as the characters never really change. None of them are really likeable either. That being said what happens makes sense and the grim, gritty nature of all that goes on is weirdly compelling.
A show with precious little light. There is plenty of darkness, pain, death and violence here. Takes a special kind of person to not be worn out by it. Meaning on the part of characters and viewers.
Over the seven seasons, you will see guest appearances by Hank Azaria, Susan Sarandon, James Woods, Alan Alda, Elliott Gould, Zach Grenier, Steven Bauer, Jonathon Schaech, Brooke Smith, Peter Jacobson, Frank Whaley, Sheryle Lee Ralph, Rosanna Arquette, Brent Spiner, Sherilyn Fenn, Wendell Pierce, Ann-Margaret, Leland Orser, Fairuza Balk, and Ian McShane along with episodes directed by Kyra Sedgewick, Dash Mihok, Liev Schreiber, and Michael Apted.
Ray Donovan: The Movie directed by David Hollander:
After a successful run as a series on Showtime, Ray Donovan is back in feature-length film format. Ray Donovan ran for seven seasons and after it was cancelled rather suddenly, I am sure fans waited for the day that a movie would be made to wrap things up in a satisfying way. I don’t know if everyone is totally satisfied with the way this ends, but surely fans of the Donovan family will happily take them any way they can get them.
A change of format (film versus series) does not mean a change in the formula we have come to know. However, there is a full-circle feeling to it as the setting changes from Los Angeles to the Donovans’ native Boston. They return because Ray’s (played by Liev Schreiber) past comes back to haunt him as well as the entire family dealing with the violence that has plagued them throughout. They are going to have to stick together like never before in order to get out of this.
This time he is not only portraying the lead character, but he co-wrote the script for the film. Ray Donovan has always featured some great acting on the part of the cast comprised of Jon Voight, Eddie Marsan, Pooch Hall, Katherine Moenning, Kerris Dorsey, and Dash Mihok, but make no mistake, this is a star vehicle for Schreiber.
This is definitely for fans of the series as if you have not seen the series then you probably won’t “get” all that is happening here in the 1 hour and 40 minutes. You must have some previous knowledge to get all that is intended. A decent job is done here to tie up any of the storyline ends from the series. Stays true to the style of the series and the behaviour of the main characters. Gritty and real. The ending is a cool mixture of light and dark.
