It's a legal drama set in 2014 in Chicago, Illinois, and a fictional town in rural Indiana. It follows a prominent criminal defense lawyer returning home and defending his estranged father on a murder charge.
Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.) is an aggressive criminal lawyer in Chicago who has long been estranged from his father, Judge Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall), a local Indiana judge for over 40 years. Hank returns home for the funeral of his mother. His older brother, Glen (Vincent D'Onofrio), operates a tire business, and his younger brother, Dale (Jeremy Strong), is developmentally challenged but gets his joy in making movies of daily life.
On the night of the funeral, Judge Palmer's car is involved in a fatal hit-and-run accident involving a recently-released man who Judge Palmer had sentenced for murdering the man's girlfriend 20 years earlier. This sentencing happened after the Judge had given the man a very light sentence for assaulting the girl shortly before the murder.
After Judge Palmer is charged with murder and while the trial unfolds, we learn about Hank's checkered past as a teenager and why he and his father are estranged. We learn Hank may even have some progeny in the town.
The problem with "The Judge" is the script. Downey Jr. And Duvall give excellent performances with scattergun material. The film introduces too many storylines and potentially interesting characters that drift into the sunset. Some courtroom stuff is not legally sustainable, making the plot even less believable. Tighter editing would have made a better movie.
Nonetheless, I love Robert Duvall, who was 83 when the film was released.
Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.) is an aggressive criminal lawyer in Chicago who has long been estranged from his father, Judge Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall), a local Indiana judge for over 40 years. Hank returns home for the funeral of his mother. His older brother, Glen (Vincent D'Onofrio), operates a tire business, and his younger brother, Dale (Jeremy Strong), is developmentally challenged but gets his joy in making movies of daily life.
On the night of the funeral, Judge Palmer's car is involved in a fatal hit-and-run accident involving a recently-released man who Judge Palmer had sentenced for murdering the man's girlfriend 20 years earlier. This sentencing happened after the Judge had given the man a very light sentence for assaulting the girl shortly before the murder.
After Judge Palmer is charged with murder and while the trial unfolds, we learn about Hank's checkered past as a teenager and why he and his father are estranged. We learn Hank may even have some progeny in the town.
The problem with "The Judge" is the script. Downey Jr. And Duvall give excellent performances with scattergun material. The film introduces too many storylines and potentially interesting characters that drift into the sunset. Some courtroom stuff is not legally sustainable, making the plot even less believable. Tighter editing would have made a better movie.
Nonetheless, I love Robert Duvall, who was 83 when the film was released.