Hank Palmer is a notorious defence lawyer who represents the wilfully guilty yet always wins his cases with his excellent skills at the job. When his Mom dies, he jets out to his hometown to be with his brothers and his dad -who is the presiding judge of their town and with whom he has had a troubled relationship over the years. His stay gets extended as his Dad gets accused of a hit-and-run death of an ex-convict whom he had sentenced 20 years ago. The trial and its progress detailed along with glimpses and conflicts with Hank’s past memories make for the rest of the movie.
Language:
English
Running Time:
142 min
Rating:
R (MPAA)
Release date:
10 October 2014
Directed by:
David Dobkin
Produced by:
David Dobkin
David Gambino
Susan Downey
Written by:
Nick Schenk
Starring:
Robert Downey Jr
Vera Farmiga
Robert Duvall
Vincent D’Onofrio
Jeremy Strong
Dax Shepard
Music by:
Thomas Newman
Shot by:
Janusz Kaminski
Editing by:
Mark Livolsi
Distributed by:
Warner Bros. Pictures

What’s Hot

  • Robert Downey Jr. is bound to wow you with his quirky behaviour while being able to maintain that level head needed for a lawyer of such reputation. Apart from being a sharp lawyer, he also shows off his entire repertoire of skills when he is that compassionate brother, loving father, frustrated son and disappointed husband at different instances in the life of Hank Palmer.
  • Robert Duvall never ceases to amaze you even at his ripe age of 83. His portrayal of Joseph Palmer, the uptight Judge from a small town is just perfect. He is typically grumpy, despises others for their indiscipline and shows his love in weird ways only he can understand like the one where he connects with Hank as he explains his tough stand towards him.
  • The visuals from Janusz Kaminski ooze class and finesse when picturing the beautiful countryside of Indiana. A few shots when Hank goes out cycling to start with and the one where Hank and his Dad have an argument and walk out in different directions is captured in one wide frame with a picturesque backdrop, is just magical.
  • Dialogues from Nick Schenk and Bill Dubuque are so deeply integral to the core of the movie built around a courtroom with the lead characters being a judge and a lawyer. The exchanges between Hank and the prosecutors are undoubtedly the best of the lot with so much of aggression displayed in just words.

What’s Not

  • The movie skip jumps over the characters of Vera Farmiga playing Hank’s ex-girlfriend – Samantha and her daughter Carla by not giving them enough importance considering Carla was born to Samantha and Hank’s brother and is treated rather strangely. The way the movie ends does not offer them any hope as well.

Badges

Verdict

Verdict Stamp

'The Judge' is that movie with a lot many facets apart from a riveting courtroom drama! With an emotionally powered father-son relationship at the core, some effective performances by the lead actors provide a truly well executed and intriguing depiction of the story for the audience to relish and relate to.