MOVIE OF THE WEEK #2 (10/10/14): THE JUDGE

"This staring contest is not going the way I anticipated ..." Hank Palmer (Robert Downey, Jr.) shares a moment with his estranged father – and murder suspect Joseph (Robert Duvall) in a scene from Warner Bros. pictures new drama THE JUDGE. CREDIT: Clare Folger © 2014 Warner Bros. Entertainment, WV Films IV LLC and Ratpac-Dune Entertainment LLC.

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:



KEY CAST MEMBERS: Robert Downey, Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Billy Bob Thornton, Dax Shepard, Jeremy Strong, Leighton Meester, Vincent D'Onofrio, Emma Tremblay, Ken Howard and David Krumholtz

WRITER(S): Nick Schenk & Bill Dubuque (screenplay); Nick Schenk & David Dobkin (story)

DIRECTOR(S): David Dobkin

WEB SITE: http://thejudgemovie.com/

60 SECOND PLOT SYNOPSIS (OR AS CLOSE TO IT AS ONE CAN TRY TO MAKE): Directed by David Dobkin of Wedding Crashers fame, The Judge stars Robert Downey, Jr. as Hank Palmer, a fancy big-shot lawyer who seemingly has it all: A thriving pactice in Chicago, a beatiful wife (Sarah Lancaster), precocious daughter (Emma Tremblay) and home/car to match. Then, while in court defending a client he knows is guilty as sin (per his specialty), he gets a phone call from which he cannot ask for a recess.

His mother has passed away, so it's time to return home to smalltown Indiana for her funeral.

While Hank is happy to see his brothers Dale (Jeremy Strong) and Glen (Vincent D'Onofrio) as well as his old high school flame Samantha (Vera Farmiga), he is far less happy to see his father, Joseph (Robert Duvall). The literal judge of the town where Hank grew up, the two have become quite estranged over the years to the point the less they say to each other, the happier they seem. 

Ready to return home to Chicago as soon as the funeral is over, Hank finds his perfect plan to escape on an early flight thrown off course when he receives a call containing an unexpected message: His father, after going out to a local convenience store, is now standing accused of murder after striking a man in the middle of the night. Eventually, Hank and Joseph come to realize that they must work together if there is any chance of a happy ending given the circumstances.

Of course, the term "happy ending" is quite relative when the relative in question is someone you've considered dead to you for years.  

WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST?: Robert Downey, Jr. fans, people who enjoy films where the characters are self-aware of both who they are and with each other, people who enjoy well-acted family dramas

WHO WON'T – OR SHOULDN'T – LIKE THIS FILM?: Those who cannot enjoy a story they find too predictable, anyone having a hard time dealing with aging parents/dysfunctional family issues 

FINAL VERDICT – IS IT GOOD, GREAT, BAD OR DOWNRIGHT AWFUL? A film that allows Downey to remind the general public there is a man beneath Tony Stark's alter ego's suit or armor, The Judge is a solid although familiar family drama about the basic struggles fathers anda sons experience on a daily basis.

With his alluring smile, ability to rock a suit like no one's business and general smoothness make it seem like he is coolest guy in the room often without trying, it is easy to forget Downey, Jr. can actually act. The Judge is essentially serves as Downey's stage to show off his dramatic acting prowess, adding depth to a character that would be a carbon copy, standard issue "man-undergoing-family-drama-on-both-ends" film that is hardly memorable. Fortunately, Downey, Jr. is able to draw you in by making Hank too layered to dismiss. Sure, it's fairly easy to predict what is going to happen, the effects of the next action to unfold on screen and how things will eventually wrap up ... But it's a fun process to watch. 

Of course, it would not be as fun to watch if Downey wasn't given some capable actors to interact with ... Which is why Duvall's raw, unhinged performance is nearly as captivating as Downey, Jr.'s. While it is easy for him to play the stern figure, he does so with a bit of vunerability you can always see lying just under the surface so that by the time he and Downey, Jr.'s characters reach their expected big blow out, it feels like a culmination rather than a letdown. Likewise, Farmiga is very entertaining as the old flame that both challenges and comforts Downey, Jr.'s character, letting the duality that Hank Palmer is shine so that you see how both sides of the man have made the man who he is today.

That's why the final verdict on The Judge is one worth seeing. 

OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):