#214 -Ray Donovan: The movie

After two years since an abrupt cancelation we’ve gotten closure on the seven seasons that was Ray Donovan. The Ray Donovan movie was released on January 14th 2022 after fan backlash to the series ending on a cliffhanger. The movie takes place shortly after the series end. Ray and the family are in mourning over the death of Smitty, Bridget’s husband who got too involved with Mickey Donovan and the chaos he brings. The film follows Ray tracking down Mickey to end this family drama once and for all before more death and misery follows.

Ray Donovan the movie is a good conclusion to the show. The film shows current day events and flashback’s to Ray and Mickey back in Boston. It was exciting to finally see the events unfold that led Ray to go to Los Angeles with Ezra and see how he became the fixer we know and love. The actors they got for the younger characters were all good but the highlight was the actor Bill Hecks performance as Mickey Donovan back in the day. The manerisms and characteristics are all there and beautifully crafted.

The film maintains the feel of the show for the most part. At times it felt as if a season had been condensed down into two hours. This of course meant that certain characters and arc’s would have to be left aside as the film’s focus is Ray and Mickey. There isn’t much for Bunchy, Daryll or Terry to do which is a shame but for the conclusion of the story it’s necessary in this form. As a massive fan of this series and the unbelievable work done by Liev Schreiber as Ray,this film was highly anticipated for me. As usual Schreiber is pitch perfect as Ray. It’s always impressive to me with his work how he conveys so much emotion and intensity usually through his physicality rather than his words. Ray Donovan deserves to be in the same arena as Tony Soprano, Hank Moody, Donald Draper or many of the other iconic protagonists on television.

Overall the movie is great because it wrapped up the show and gave it a good send off with a potential future down the line. One of the things I will say against the film is that if you haven’t seen the series then you will be very lost at sea during the run-time. Other than that the acting,direction,writing,music and cinematography are as good as ever.

It was great to get a conclusion to the series I’ve been watching since 2014. I came across it one night on sky Atlantic. The episode was walk this way, it was directed by Schreiber as well and had me hooked in an instant. I thought it was such a slick show and I enjoyed the dysfunctional Irish family dynamic. Ray Donovan you were a great show and now that you’re finished I look forward to a rewatch down the line.