THE JUDGE
Genre : Drama
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Morality and values often become unnecessary friction on the highway to big city slickness. And our flawed heroes are often quick to cast them aside. Hank Palmer is no different. A hot shot lawyer from Chicago, he comes home to Indiana to attend the funeral of his mother and finds a cold reception from his strict judge father, Joseph Palmer. The way they see law and life has created a chasm between the father and the son over the years. Hank is smug about his craft of selling lies in the courtroom which for him is an amoral place. In contrast his father can sacrifice family ties for discipline and justice and as a result both carry wounds inflicted by each other.
As Hank is about to leave he finds that his father is involved in a hit and run case where he drove over a man he once convicted. It could have a far reaching impact on the image of Joseph in the town and Hank offers to defend him. As expected, Joseph refuses but ultimately relents. As the case reaches the courtroom, the drama finds a thrilling direction as director David Dobkin peels the layers of the screenplay. As the father and son get to understand each other it rises above the usual saga of a dysfunctional family meet over a funeral to generate moments of sorrow and unintentional humour. Here the comic bits come announced and the schmaltz isn’t underlined too much as Hank’s rediscovering of his small town values and love for ex-girlfriend (Vera Farmiga isn’t tested at all) is not a straight-line. It is nicely twisted, poignant and comic.
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At times Dobkin is guilty of playing to the Oscar’s jury with explicit scenes like Hank helping his father to get over the embarrassment of incontinence in the bathtub or the overt sentimentality in the final scenes but overall it is a good old school family drama that rides on powerful performances of the two Roberts. Downey sheds his Iron Man suit but brings his cocksure attitude to the courtroom. His charm doesn’t hurt but it is Duvall who holds the reins of his drama. As the growling, slightly deranged old man fighting to hold on to his dignity, Duvall gives a master class in restraint without getting reduced to a piece of furniture.
Bottomline : Often guilty of playing to the Oscar jury nonetheless an entertaining and uplifting family drama