Ray Donovan
2013
Original language: English
- drama
The story
Set in the sprawling mecca of the rich and famous, Ray Donovan does the dirty work for LA's top power players, and makes their problems disappear. His father's unexpected release from prison sets off a chain of events that shakes the Donovan family to its core.
What it’s like
Sun-bleached Los Angeles exteriors shot in hard afternoon light, with palm shadows across stucco and glossy Malibu interiors lit cool and expensive, give the show a bright, high-gloss surface that keeps curdling into something uneasy. Its camera tends toward handheld closeness in tense rooms and slow, drifting wides over the city at dusk, and the score leans on low synth pulses and dry guitar that thicken whenever a problem needs fixing. The vibe is glamorous and corrosive, a sort of sunlit noir with a bruised undertow. Episodes move at a steady, plotted clip, though the emotional rhythm slows for long, wordless scenes between estranged brothers and their father. The people are morally compromised and slowly, painfully cracking open, a fixer who keeps failing to leave his past behind. Violence is regular and sometimes sudden, with brief but hard-hitting fights, some profanity, and sexual content, and the darkness lands as dread and cruelty more than gore. For viewers who like crime drama with strong performances, Los Angeles atmosphere, and family tension that runs under the surface.
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