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Having grown up hating his father, an arrogant lawyer gradually finds it in his heart to defend his father, a respected judge, when he is accused of murder in this courtroom drama starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall. The film made Oscar history when Duvall became the oldest Supporting Actor nominee for his role here, and he is every bit as good as that as he battles aggressive cancer and chemotherapy side effects while standing accused. Duvall has a particularly strong scene in which Downey helps him in the shower and the two of them bond over pretending (for the sake of Downey's daughter) that everything is fine with the old man. His stance that he would "rather die in prison that be remembered as that" resonates too. And yet, while there is much to like in how Downey and Duvall gradually patch up their differences, there is little escaping the fact that they are pretty obnoxious characters on their own (Downey intentionally urinates on another man's leg in the opening scene), which in turn makes the experience a little hard to sit through when it turns sappy and sentimental towards the end. The film is also bloated with a couple of subplots that could be trimmed (the old flame in particular), and yet, 'The Judge' is surprisingly riveting despite its massive length. Duvall is really that compelling and any music score by Thomas Newman always helps.
Jackson Booth-Millard
I assumed this film was a courtroom drama, it certainly has that aspect, but it is more a father-son story, and I mainly wanted to see it because it was part of awards season, directed by David Dobkin (Shanghai Knights, Wedding Crashers, The Change-Up). Basically in Chicago, successful and unethical defence attorney Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.) has been estranged from his family for some time, they live in a small town in Indiana, Hank is also getting divorced, due to his wife's infidelity, this will also lead to a custody battle for his young daughter. He receives a call telling him that his mother has died, he flies to his hometown of Carlinville, there he reunites with his older brother Glen (Vincent D'Onofrio), a tire shop owner, and his younger brother Dale (Jeremy Strong), an autistic aspiring filmmaker. Hank stops by the small county courthouse, he quietly enters to observe a case in progress, the judge is Joseph Palmer (Oscar and Golden Globe nominated Robert Duvall), Hank's father, they are later reunited properly for the first time in years at the funeral, Joseph treats guests with kindness, but is cold towards his son. The next morning, as he is preparing to leave, Hank notices damage to his father's Cadillac Coupe DeVille, Joseph denies knowing how it happened, but Hank believes his father was drinking and driving, they have a heated, and Hank promises never to return. But after boarding the plane, Hank receives a call from his brother that Joseph is being questioned by police regarding a fatal hit and run, the victim is identified as recently released convicted murderer Mark Blackwell (Mark Kiely). Blackwell had previously been sentenced by Joseph after killing a teenager, his blood is found on the car, Joseph is indicted and prosecutor Dwight Dickham (Billy Bob Thornton) is seeking a conviction for first-degree murder, Hank agrees to defend Joseph. Hank learns that his father was undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, this explains Joseph's inability to remember the accident and provides a potential defence, for diminished capacity (impaired mental functions), but Joseph rejects this defence, it could potentially damage his legacy. During the trial Hank and Joseph try to put aside their bitterness for each other, dating back to Hank as a teenager drinking and driving, causing an injury to Glen to put an end to a potential career in professional baseball, Joseph put Hank in a youth detention centre, and Hank left Carlinville after never hearing from his father following this. Hank reconnects with his former sweetheart Samantha Powell (Vera Farmiga), whom he abandoned at a Metallica concert over twenty years ago, he discovers she has a daughter, Carla (Leighton Meester), born nine months after he left, Hank believes he is the father, although it is later revealed to be Glen. During trial, Hank believes he has established enough reasonable doubt to result in an acquittal for his father, but Joseph sabotages the case, saying that although he has no memory the accident, he probably did kill Blackwell intentionally, he says that he was haunted by Blackwell's case, having seen Hank in Blackwell, wanting to help him like a son, he misread Blackwell and came to see Hank as being like him. Joseph is acquitted for murder, but convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison, but he is released in seven months on compassionate parole, due to his cancer becoming terminal. In the end, following his release, Hank and Joseph go fishing together, after acknowledging Hank as the best lawyer he knows, Joseph dies peacefully in the boat, having finally made peace with his father, Hank returns to the courtroom Joseph once reigned over, reminiscing on everything. Also starring Dax Shepard as C.P. Kennedy, Leighton Meester as Carla Powell, Ken Howard as Judge Warren, Emma Tremblay as Lauren Palmer, Balthazar Getty as Deputy Hanson, Sarah Lancaster as Lisa Palmer, David Krumholtz as Mike Kattan, Grace Zabriskie as Mrs. Blackwell and Denis O'Hare as Doc Morris. Having his career revived, following his sobriety issues, being in superhero and comedy movies, Downey Jr. almost manages a real world role as the cynical lawyer, and I can see reasons why Duvall was nominated awards, playing a constantly grouchy but troubled father, the other well-known stars, including Thornton, don't get as much to do. This could have been a really engaging courtroom drama, but it is fumbled by a predictable father- son relationship built on initial hatred turning slowly into respect for each other, the sentimental stuff gets a little bit clunky, but it is certainly an interesting enough story, overall an average drama. Worth watching!
