[Review] The Judge (2014)

cast: Robert Downey, Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Vincent D’Onofrio, Dax Shepard, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Lancaster, Billy Bob Thornton

directed by: David Dobkin

“My father is a lot of unpleasant things, but murderer is not one of them” – Hank Palmer

Courtroom dramas have an appeal. It’s the mix of character redemption arc and the lawyers tips and tricks for the masses. In David Dobkin star studded law-flick we get a the regular ass-hole of a character in search of a closure in the form of patching things up with his father, the judge in a small town in Indiana. When the son is set to defend his father in court, you can expect some sparks, some shouts, some tears and some revelations. ”The Judge” does all that beautifully being salvage from the regular afternoon delight movie extravaganza by the performances of Robert Downey Jr and Robert Duvall.

Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr) is a hot shot lawyer on the brink of a divorce who in the middle of a trial is called back home to attend his mother’s funeral. Back home, the shadows of the past are waiting for the prodigal son to show up and start fixing what he managed to avoid twenty years in the mix. To make matters worse, his father aka the Judge Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall) is facing charges for manslaughter and just for kicks, Dobkin adds a tornado hitting the small town because family drama needs to be fixed when nature is at its worse.

Every small town story has at least a brother who stayed back home and left behind his dreams of glory, Glen (Vincent D’Onofrio), the beautiful full of attitude gal, Hank left behind, Sam (Vera Farmiga) and her daughter (Leighton Meester) sassy and charming like her mother. But the core, the heart and what we want to follow in this movie is the tale of Hank and Joseph. The father and son have suffered years upon years of resentment and bitterness has become a close friend for both, filled by the regular sass and arrogance delivered in the usual trademark by Robert Downey Jr.

Here’s what the viewers – the younger crowds – need to grasp before saying their piece. Downey Jr. has had a long and rich career before he has won fair and square the part of Tony Stark and yes, lately we’ve seen a pattern. We can say Sherlock Holmes is a British avant l’epoque Stark like character attached to Downey Jr’s mantle but the facts remain. Robert Downey Jr is maybe one of the best actors of his generation capable of delivering strong, emotional, heavy weight roles without effort. He’s natural, he’s sassy and when he gets a part ringing some bells – like some father/son drama or a lawyer with a somewhat shady past – you know Robert Downey Jr will go full throttle on that part. It comes naturally to him. He’s that good and when he has the chance to step out from the franchises – where he plays the parts with gusto – he can pick some meaty roles and take them to church – just a little Iron Man 3 turn of phrase.

Robert Duvall wasn’t the first choice for the part. Jack Nicholson was the top choice followed by Tommy Lee Jones. Duvall gives a strong, rounded performance and it’s the type of role which can offer an Oscar Award and without a doubt a Golden Globe nomination. It gives chills and makes you bite your nails up until the final moments and the Downey/Duvall duo have enough chemistry to pull ahead the courtroom drama in spite of the lack of substance of the secondary characters. It’s actually a bit sad Vera Farmiga is delegated to the sweetheart role and Billy Bob Thornton shows up just to give Downey a courtroom antagonist to flex his lawyer chops.

”The Judge” offers the chance to a group of great actors to go back to the early days of courtroom dramas and family patching up and coming to terms. It can be seen as an old school kind of movie for the modern times. It fails to give everyone involved the chance to rise up and grow beside the classic character of the genre but it does wonders for Downey Jr and Duvall, both of them going out and showing those nominations and accolades they take pride in are not in vain. And maybe, just maybe this atypical movie for this day and age can become a classic for them. Some awards would be nice as well.

Edge and Back: 8/10