Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Vincent D’Onofrio
High-flying lawyer Hank Palmer (Downey Jr.) receives news
that his mother (Carol S. Austin, Catherine Cummings) has passed away. Hank
returns to his small hometown in Indiana and endures an awkward reunion with
his father, Joseph (Duvall) a highly-respected judge. During Henry’s stay, he
notices his father struggling with his age and discovers damage done to his
car. Soon afterwards, Joseph is arrested for a suspected hit-and-run murder.
On its most of basic of surfaces, The Judge has a fair few
things to recommend it. The cast is interesting and full of decent talent. I
was also drawn in by the film’s initial poster, which brought this movie to my
attention. Robert Downey Jr. sat in a black leather chair, Robert Duvall sat in
a similar chair behind him, the colours dark browns. It reminded me of the
cinematography of the late Gordon Willis and his work in the Godfather films.
Of course when you have Robert Duvall high on the bill and playing someone in
the world of law, the comparisons with the Godfather movies and Duvall’s role as
Corleone consigliore Tom Hagen, are always going to be conjured up. The poster
is very misleading as the subsequent posters and trailers were lighter and more
in keeping with the actual film’s tone. It would be a stretch to say I was disappointed,
but I was taken aback slightly. In the end, The Judge is a rather enough light
film considering the subject matter and could be rather enjoyable, as it is
when it’s at its best. The problem is that it’s a rather long film, padded out
with way too much detail.
Over the course of the film we elaborate over Downey Jr.’s
old life. We see his brothers, Glen (Vincent D’Onofrio) a would-be professional
baseball player and Dale (Jeremy Strong) a (seemingly) autistic man with a strong
attachment to a hand-held camera. We also meet Downey Jr.’s old fame, played by
Vera Farmiga. This is all customary “big man returns to small town” stuff that
is pushed into various sub-plots and is either not fully resolved or just
fizzles out. This is best exemplified with a sub-plot involving Farmiga’s
daughter, played by Leighton Meester, which is technically resolved but is
given little real significance given that the ideas in that sub-plot alone
could’ve made a separate film.
The acting is to a decent standing, with both Robert Downey
Jr. and Robert Duvall both playing characteristics that have been a part of
their work for years. This is particularly true Robert Downey Jr., snarking
away like Iron Man’s Tony Stark and what you get is basically Robert Downey Jr.
playing that Robert Downey Jr. role for over two hours. He does it well but it
also gets tiring at times. Robert Duvall has always been a subtly impressive
actor and there are few (if any) actors I can think of who can convey so much
from just a slight facial expression as Duvall. He’s also been the second
banana in a lot of the productions. He’s played the lead role before but as a
veteran of Hollywood, he really needs a chance to shine and gets it here…but
only on occasion. Sometimes it feels like he’s going through the motions but he
still sells the big dramatic moments and his final scene in the film is also
his best.
Elsewhere, the other actors entertain but are, as explained,
under-explored. Billy Bob Thornton’s role as a cocky rival lawyer is never
fully put across very well as to his own personality beyond being smug (against
Robert Downey Jr. also playing a smug lawyer) and another far less experienced
lawyer character is played like he belongs in a completely separate (and far
more comedy-centric) film.
The Judge is taking a critical pasting from some corners,
partly because it’s running against another crime-related thriller in David
Fincher’s far superior, Gone Girl. But really, The Judge is not a bad film. It’s
a film that needs trimming and, being completely sincere with no snobbishness
intended, in a simpler form it could’ve fit well as a made-for-TV courtroom movie.
As this stands, it’s okay but imperfect.
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