The Judge

The simplest of stories, with the right casting and writing can turn themselves into extremely intense and “must watch” movies.  The Judge is just one example of such a movie.  Director David Dobkin didn’t have much to work with, in terms of a story that had shades of “Devil’s Advocate” without the Devil of course.  It is a simple family drama. But at the end of it, you feel ever so slightly overwhelmed.

Judge Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall) has been presiding over the Carlinville (Indiana) Court for over 40 years now.  His brand of swift and practical justice is known in the county and he has an immense amount of respect.  Respect that comes with his staunch principles that don’t allow him to be lenient to even a family member – especially a family member.

Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.) is The Judge’s 2^nd son.  He is a hotshot lawyer in the city.  Considered by many to be the best in that part of the world.  His wife Lisa (Sarah Lancaster) strays and around the same time, Hank’s mother passes.  A very emotionally disturbed Hank reaches Carlinville for the funeral – he had never returned all this time.

To make matters worse, The Judge gets arrested for a hit and run case involving a local goon who was twice convicted by The Judge himself.  The stubborn man that he is, Judge Palmer refuses Hank’s offer to represent him but eventually agrees because somewhere deep in his heart, he too believes that Hank is a great lawyer.

As mentioned earlier, The Judge has a very simple and often narrated story.  A family that is broken.  An incident or two occur that get them back together.  Slowly but surely, they try to mend their relationships.  Some old flames are thrown in for good measure.  A young and very embarrassing one is also thrown in just to ensure that the entire story doesn’t go stale.

The focus, obviously was on the casting.  Both the senior and junior Roberts are simply magnificient.  Downey is most comfortable with his rebel image and Duvall with the wise old man one.  In between the screen time for these 2 powerful personalities you see sprinklings of Vincent D'Onofrio, Vera Farmiga and of course Billy Bob Thornton.

In all, The Judge is carried on the shoulders of great performances and some wonderful screenplay.  The writing is fluid and explores as many aspects of relationships as possible.  A must watch in my books.  7.5 on 10.  Don’t miss it.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1286123289/?ref_=tt_ov_vi