The Judge
The Judge is an efficacious and heartfelt film which mixes emotion, comedy, and court side drama-worthy of a couple of Oscar nominations for both Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall. Downey’s character Hank is a brash & successful “big city hot shot” attorney based in Chicago who returns to his small rural hometown roots in Indiana after the passing of his mother.
“The Judge” explores the notion that you can “never go home again”… or can you? Upon the first interactions between Hank and his father (Robert Duvall), we quickly see that their relationship is frigid at best – so much so they barely speak through the funeral events and Hank even refers ti hi father as “The Judge”. When Hank boards a plane to fly back home, he suddenly gets a phone call from the police letting him now that his father is the main suspect in a murder. Judge Palmer has been accused of a hit and run murder of an ex-convict he put behind bars twenty years ago. After a much cantankerous debate, Hank ends up defending his father (“pro bono”).
While you may think the trial and investigation are the real plot of the film, it is clear that the real message is in the timeless story of the complexities and struggles of family relationships, specifically that of fathers and sons. We witness the honest conflicts of stubbornness, pride, vulnerability, and love.
Downey and Duvall are most definitely a dynamic duo. With the portrayals of their respective roles and interactions with each other, the remaining cast seem like time wasters. It’s also rare that we see two of our generation’s best actors in their exact element and it is a breath of fresh air. In fact, I feel that at times, we tend to take Robert Downey’s acting for granted as he makes it look so easy – full of emotion, dialect, comedic brilliance, impeccable timing, and full of expression- in all of his roles. (ie. Iron Man, Tropic Thunder, Sherlock Holmes.)
Director David Dopkin (Wedding Crashers) paces this movie fairly well considering that it is 141 minutes long. It never felt dull and kept our full attention all the way through.
A solid effort and 8 out 10 stars.
