THE JUDGE  3.2***

 

           Robert Downey, Jr. returns to the screen as Henry Palmer in The Judge.  Henry is a successful Chicago defense attorney who is very good at his job and provides well for his wife and grade-school aged daughter. The wife is bored because Henry works so hard and she is seriously contemplating a divorce. When Henry learns that his mother has passed away, he returns to the small Indiana town of his childhood for the first time in 10 years. There he is reunited with his older brother, Glen (Vincent D'Onofrio), his younger, mentally challenged brother Dale (Jeremy Strong), and his  father, Judge Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall) with whom he is bitterly estranged.

Judge Palmer becomes a murder hit/run suspect when a low-life he had previously sentenced is hit and killed on his bicycle. Henry defends his father in court. It's more family drama than courtroom drama and just because there's no mystery or "who done it" to solve doesn't mean the courtroom scenes aren't fulfilling. Every scene is  packed with drama  and some humor, and  are quite riveting. The rival prosecuting attorney played by Billy Bob Thornton is a nice surprise.

 

 

With brilliant performances from Robert Downey Jr and Robert Duvall, their battle is a joy to watch. Robert Downey Jr plays the son with his usual quick witted, cocky and charismatic style, and Robert Duvall's very humanistic performance as the bitter, stubborn father makes for a wonderful pairing of adversaries. Their outward bitterness is balanced well with their suppressed love for each other and the film is a wonderful emotional ride.  The two them on screen together are flat out amazing. The chemistry they bring to their on-screen relationship makes the film.  By films end, motivations are clear as well as the reasons why they are so estranged and why their relationship went down that path.  

Even though there was a bit too much going on at time, it is still a touching and absorbing film that will make you laugh and cry, and if you are a fan of either Downey Jr or Duvall you'll love !!

Rated R for language including some sexual references… but a “soft” R.

Clark