The Judge
The Judgeis a very familiar tale of a man that finds humility in a return to his hometown - albeit one with a few genuinely powerful moments of drama.
The Judgefollows callous defense lawyer Hank Palmer ( Robert Downey Jr. ) - who left small town Indiana life story ( let in his family and in high spirits school day lady friend ) in his former teens and never look back . Now a ruthless big - city attorney , Hank has built a prosperous vocation defending guilty but very robust party in both civil and criminal court - with no self-reproach for his clients ' victims . Still , in spitefulness of his riches and winner , long hr and a pitiless approach to humanity have taken a toll on his felicity : Hank is estranged from his ruffianly - as - nails father , Joseph ( Robert Duvall ) , a fear local judge , and now his wife is leave , threatening to take full hands of their daughter , Lauren ( Emma Tremblay ) .
When Hank ’s mother die unexpectedly , he bring back to home to Carlinville for the funeral , gestate to be on the early flight out of Ithiel Town - only to get pulled into the most personal case of his calling . The blood of a convict sea wolf has been found on the family car and Hank must decide whether he can put aside long - dwell animosity to champion his aging and obstinate father in motor inn .
Directed by David Dobkin ( The Change - Up),The Judgeis a very familiar tale of a man that happen humbleness in a retort to his hometown - albeit one with a few authentically powerful moments of drama . On its own , The Judgeis a solid character level with quality performances but many viewing audience will likely be able to anticipate where the film is headed - based on a formatting established in countless earlier movies . Similarly , Dobkin ’s picture is n’t a peculiarly sturdy platform for Downey to break out of his snarky but charming comfort zone . The fan - preferred actor gets to explore a bully range than his blockbuster enfranchisement part allow for but fans who were hop for an award bait turn will likely be underwhelmed by Downey ’s efforts in differentiating Hank .
As indicated , the account is full of caudex plot beats , guiding the way toward a predictable endpoint ; yet , Dobkin ( as well as screenwriters Nick Schenk and Bill Dubuque ) injects enough unique piece of uncompromising drama to keep the mix fresh . Unfortunately , the mystery story at the midpoint of the moving picture , along with the subsequent court scenes , are significantly less interesting than the elementary story of an alienated father and son attempting to amend their fractured relationship . Dobkin but tries to bundle too much intoThe Judge(a character - court - comedy - drama ) , and even with a 141 minute runtime , several fundamental plot electric discharge are rush or lean heavily on cliche movie image - specially those refer to Hank ’s feelings about life history in rural Carlinville .
Unsurprisingly , the on - screen coupling of Duvall and Downey is the main attraction - and the veteran actors deliver . Downey ’s performance is far from award - worthy but supply the A - lister a chance to showcase a subtlety that would be a mismatch in self - call for do - gooders like Tony Stark and Sherlock Holmes . At time the actor ’s comic Word movie bravado bleed through Hank but similarities seldom distract in second - to - instant dramatic play . The Judgewon’t get Downey the kind of recognition he saw withChaplinbut it ’s still a passionate performance - one that helps shine a spotlight on a deserving co - star in Duvall .
No doubt , Downey is the elemental boxful spot draw but Duvall steals about every one of their shared scenes . Whereas Hank is stuck in a relatively standard arc of ego - uncovering , Joe is somewhat more nuanced - a principled man with a clear - cut code of right and wrong . Duvall finds subtle ways to chip away at the stoic outside - revealing the vulnerable ( and downright fractured ) human being underneath . As a solution , viewers who are expecting a square court drama will in all probability be surprised by the dead on target focus ofThe Judge- and its uncompromising word-painting of Joe .
The supporting cast is strong , with a smattering of conversant faces in fundamental role , but most arcs are leave developing . Vincent D’Onofrio and Jeremy Strong portray Hank ’s brothers , Glen and Dale , with Billy Bob Thornton and Vera Farmiga in the roles of the prosecuting attorney , Dwight Dickham , and Hank ’s high school sweetheart , Samantha Powell , respectively ; yet , sadly , very little time is drop exploring any of the fictional character beyond shallow outlines - sketch that survive only to teach us about Hank ( and his past ) .
Moviegoers look for a fresh story or memorable performance from Downey will likely findThe Judgeto be a pretty standard fictitious character play that follow very familiar story beats . That said , Dobkin include enough unique details to severalise his film from similar fellowship ( and courtroom ) dramas - resulting in a thoughtful but not particularly innovative experience . In the end , The Judgeis a competent film , and a peachy platform for Duvall to smooth , but fall brusque in being very memorable ( or suitable of a trip to the theater ) .
TRAILER
The Judgeruns 141 minutes and is Rated R for language including some sexual references . Now playing in theaters .
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Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall in ‘The Judge’
In the 2014 drama The Judge , Robert Downey Jr. stars as successful attorney Hank Palmer , who returns to his hometown to defend his alienated father , Joseph Palmer ( Robert Duvall ) , a judge accused of murder . Vera Farmiga , Vincent D’Onofrio , Jeremy Strong , Dax Shepard , Billy Bob Thornton , and Leighton Meester round out the residuum of the main roll .
Vera Farmiga as Samantha in ‘The Judge’
