Ray Meets Helen ( Alan Rudolph, 2017)

By smallbackroom -
Ray Meets Helen is Alan Rudolph’s 22nd film to date and sadly last film Sondra Locke played in. It’s the 6th film Alan made with Keith Carradine who plays Ray, a broken down ex-boxer now doing shady jobs for his pal and employe Harve (Keith David) who also goes behind his back and meets up with Ray’s ex Ginger (Jennifer Tilly), a self-proclaimed last living romantic. Ray meets Helen in a restaurant and they bond instantly. She arrived to L.A. asking money loan and after being refused, meets a lonely woman who commits suicide and leaves an impromptu will: whoever finds her first can enjoy her wealth. Helen seizes the opportunity. She is in need of the money as all the family deaths are coming to her and dying costs. There are more characters on display and even though it may seem a hot mess, Ray Meets Helen is a display of certain freedom only a few directors maintain in Hollywood. Unconvential plot is not catered to the contemporary needs. It’s flawed, mysterious, allienated. It gives multitudes in language and expression. Ray Meets Helen shows a certain old school sophistication and class to the storytelling not common in today’s cinema.
This small review appeared in Berlin Film Journal as my pic for The Best Of 2018..

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