Movie review: The Judge - legal ties

The Judge is part family melodrama and part courtroom thriller

Unlike the glamorous portrayal of lawyers in shows such as Suits, The Judge is a gently nostalgic courtroom thriller. Director David Dobkin is known for comedies such as The Wedding Crashers, but with The Judge, he proves that his interests as a film-maker are far more eclectic.

The intergenerational family drama, written by Nick Schenk and Bill Dubuque, features an arrogant Chicago attorney Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr). Hank is forced to return to his hometown of Carlinville, Indiana, to attend his mother’s funeral, only to find that his father Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall), a respected, elderly local judge, has been accused of a hit-and-run murder on the night of the funeral.

When Joseph’s lawyer proves to be less than satisfactory, Hank reluctantly steps in to defend his father and remains in Carlinville even though his own marriage is on the verge of a divorce and he rarely gets to see his seven-year-old daughter Lauren (Emma Tremblay).

Downey Jr is a virtuoso character who shows his ability to switch in an instant from comic nonchalance to sarcasm and from guilt and grief to familial tenderness. After playing Iron Man in four movies and Sherlock Holmes in two, he finally gets the chance to play a nuanced character in this film. The two Roberts give us the best moments of the film with Oscar-caliber performances. Additionally, 83-year-old Duvall steals the show by beautifully conveying pride, confusion, pain and compassion and Vera Farmiga makes a strong impression in the modest role of the girl Hank left behind in his hometown, now all grown up and working at a local diner.

The Judge is a joy to watch mainly because of the way Joseph and Hank clash over their varying defense strategies, carefully negotiating the thorny legal and moral consequences of the case. The movie pivots on a simple yet inspiring stroke of casting, pitting Duvall’s iconic gravitas against Downey Jr’s razor-sharp wit. Given that their characters are members of a legal profession, this invites overall verbal vivacity and rhetorical showmanship that the actors are all too happy to oblige.



Additionally, there are certain scenes in the film that may leave you tearful; for instance, when Palmer tenderly bathes his father. The complexities of the father-son relationship may feel trite to those looking for a legal thriller, but for many, the strength of The Judge lies in moments when the duo draw close to each other and discover unexpected things about themselves.

Overall, the mystery of the legal and dysfunctional family drama will keep you glued to the screen. The Judge is not just about the case in question. Instead, the movie’s pleasures lie in the powerful acting and the wonderful chemistry the two lead actors share without trying to steal each other’s thunder.



Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, March 8^th,  2015.