The Judge

Recently, it seems impossible for Robert Downey Jr. to play a character who isn't an arrogant know-it-all, and his role as Hank Palmer in David Dobkin's The Judge is no different. Yet Hank's strong family ties and an iron-will to defend his father at all costs, further proves that Downey Jr. is a fantastic actor.

Henry "Hank" Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.) is a talented lawyer and the son of a long-serving and highly respected judge, Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall). The two lost connection with one-another many years ago, after a young Hank injured his older brother Glen (Vincent D'Onofrio), in a car accident and his father sent him to a juvenile detention centre. After the death of his mother, Hank returns to Indiana to attend the funeral and once again has a run-in with his father.

After Joseph is suspected of murdering a criminal, whom he sent to prison and was recently released on parole, Hank serves as his attorney and perseveres to prove his father's innocence against the odds of overwhelming evidence, strenuous relations with his family, and the determination of the prosecuting lawyer (Billy Bob Thornton).

This is a film that sets out to prove that blood is thicker than water, from the rocky father-son relationship, to the compassion Hank finds in his siblings. This makes for some truly touching moments throughout, and certainly some very confronting scenes. However these are unfortunately subdued by an overwhelming sense of sentimentality that becomes rather tiring and makes up the bulk of the nearly two-and-a-half hour running time. Instead, it is the courtroom scenes where the movie really comes-alive. It is here, mainly in the second-half of the movie, that we witness Hank's supremacy as a lawyer and where the humanity of the story and the troubled relationships really start to emerge.

Seeing Downey go head-to-head with Duvall is quite astounding. Both prove through their performances that they are some of the most talented actors alive today. I felt that Vincent D'Onofrio wasn't capitalised as much as he could have been, but he certainly shines in his moments in the spotlight, and Thornton, continuing in the wake of Fargo, proves that he is more than capable of playing a total bad-ass.

The Judge has an interesting, if slightly overdone look to it. There's an apparent obsession with panning and tracking shots throughout the film, as if they were afraid to just leave the camera static and let the scene develop, coupled with a huge amount of chiaroscuro lighting that seems to always show Downey Jr. in an angelic light. However once they simplify things, the beautifully gritty look emerges.

Despite some of these faults, The Judge remains a fantastic movie. Supported by a gripping, if slightly too 'Hollywood' story and substantial performances all-round, it never fails to keep you interested, and maybe even just a bit touched.