Le juge

If you are an adult wanting to see a great film about real life family issues with some terrific court room drama you should see this film. It is well written and directed with great performances by Downey and Duvall. I think Downey gives his best performance in a film and Duvall is again outstanding.

I found this to be a better film than Gone Girl. It is more believable and more moving.

I am a baby boomer who likes science fiction but I am quite pleased to see a film without a super hero and CG images.

I hope to convince my daughters (all in their 20's) and my parents (in their 80's) to see this movie.

I don't usually write a review, but I feel compelled to defend this film against critics who, I feel, have unfairly given it a low rating. While its premise is not necessarily unique and it has its fair share of clichés, The Judge is a deeply moving film that showcases the acting powerhouse that is Robert Duvall and the undeniable versatility and magnetic screen presence of Robert Downey Jr. There are also strong supporting performances from Vera Farmiga (she and RJD have great chemistry), Billy Bob Thornton, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Jeremy Strong. I dare anyone who has dealt with family issues not to be affected. Forget the critics - they don't know everything - and do yourself a favour and watch The Judge. You won't regret it.

I saw this film twice at TIFF and was quite impressed! It's getting some harsh reviews, undeservedly. Yes, it's too long and yes, director David Dobkin needs to work on his tone and pacing, but the story is great and the performances are fantastic!

Not a simple courtroom drama at all, the story is more about Hank Palmer (Downey)'s struggle to understand his relationship with his father and to accept where he came from. It's about identity, family, and all the messiness and contradictions of life.

If you are a teenager who can't sit still through a more-than-two-hours long movie, or expect some type of John Grisham or Iron Man-like action from this film, you will be disappointed. If you are a true film lover who revels in watching great actors practice their craft, you will not be disappointed by The Judge.

This movie is definitely worth sitting through for amazing performances by both Downey and Duvall, who could both be up for Oscar nominations for their roles as the son and father, respectively. There are many very funny moments as well as many touching moments between father and son, brother and brother. The audience I sat with at Roy Thomson Hall loved it, frequently expressing their appreciation with laughter. See for yourself on October 10--don't let a few critics spoil it for you.

"The Judge" is one of those films that with decidedly lesser and less passionate talent could've been a more evident hot mess than it already is. In its current form, however, it's a rare hot mess that succeeds mostly because of the audacity and chemistry of its performers, on top of the entertaining content it provides us, despite its lengthy runtime (one-hundred and thirty-seven minutes minus credits).

The film concerns Hank Palmer (Robert Downey, Jr.), an immensely successful, arrogant Chicago lawyer, who returns to his hometown of Carlinville, Indiana for his mother's funeral, leaving behind an unsatisfied wife who wants out of their marriage and a young daughter who knows a bit too much for her age. Upon returning to Carlinville, Hank reconnects with his two siblings and realizes all the reasons him and his father, Judge Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall), have severed all ties to each other. Hank detests his father for not just his stubborn and sometimes vague natures, but his crooked sensibilities that often come off as brash and inhuman.

Hank realizes he'll have to extend his stay in Carlinville when his father is suspected of murdering a man he sent to prison some years ago. After a long, emotional night at his wife's funeral, Joseph wakes up to find his car scratched with blood in the front-grill that matches the blood of the victim he hit, who was riding on the street on a bicycle. After being granted the ability by Joseph, Hank now has to go about defending his father, as he is up against the equally-renowned prosecutor Dwight Dickham (Billy Bob Thornton).

I cannot proceed further into analysis until I recognize the beauty of Downey, Jr. and Duvall's chemistry and their individual performances. Both actors convey such a natural feeling of stubbornness and gusto that, when both men are in the room together, often occupied by tense arguing or bickering, "The Judge" electrifies the audience. Downey, Jr., even as he nears fifty, occupies the sensibilities and the mindset of a cocky frat boy in the best possible way, and Duvall, in his early-eighties, finds commendable energy in his role as the judge-turned-convict. When put together and given personalities that the men can convey in their sleep (Downey Jr.'s cocky, holier-than- thou attitude and Duvall's all-knowing attitude but occasionally vague intentions), the film explodes on screen.

Then there's the man who is likely going to get little praise, due to his minimal involvement until the final act of the film, Billy Bob Thornton, doing the best Billy Bob Thornton performance possible. You know the type: confident, but not foolishly cocky, well-spoken, with a humble southern drawl, and groomed but mannered method to his madness. Right off the bat, we have three incredible talents gracing the screen at one time, which almost makes us forget how average and often cluttered the story really is.

"The Judge" suffers from the classic issue of having too many subplots. In my plot summation, I mentioned two (the divorce and the murder trial), yet that doesn't even scratch the film's surface of how many bases it attempts to hit. Aside from trying to play up the "father never loved me" storyline, "The Judge" attempts to build so much around the life of Hank that it can't keep up. We have a divorce, the rekindling of an old relationship, a possible deadbeat dad situation, a vague future, and that's not even considering the subplots and other features plaguing the other characters, like Joseph and his other two sons. There is simply too much occurring in "The Judge" to effectively appreciate everything it has to offer.

Then there's the fact that the courtroom scenes of the film, unlike in "Flight," back in 2012, which proved not to be something they were ostracized as prior to the film's release, which find themselves too lost in the affinity of theatricalities rather than realism. By this point, the whole film has taken a realistic, human focus to its story, and to see "The Judge" take on brazen obviousness in the way of courtroom shouting and disobedience finds ways to be offputting at times.

Nonetheless, "The Judge" is, above all, an audience's film, meaning that most people who go to see this film will, in turn, love it, and find themselves reflecting on life, their family, and themselves. I'd be lying if I said this film didn't hit personal chords, depicting a troubled relationship between father-and-son that I have encountered in life countless times, with attitudes and stances greatly mirroring my own reality. For this reason, among the fact that the film's performances are truly something to take in and the film's human interest never loses sight despite a heavy dependence on storyline, I'm recommending "The Judge" to people as a solid piece of adult drama with a modern, human focus; we hardly ever get those anymore by someone who's name isn't Alexander Payne.

It's not easy to judge or to make the right choice as one. And the past always will get to you, no matter what you do and what you try to forget about it. This family drama is a perfect example of that. Basing everything on two major actors, this is more than solid (gold). The story works and you're invested from the get go. Even if Robert Downeys character might not seem the friendliest or maybe because of that. Because he seems to be able to get away with things.

But we do get to see behind that curtain/wall, that his character has made up and his own denial. There is an almost weird love triangle, which might throw some people off, but it's just to make our main character more believable, to show what he became over the years. Every decision will result in some consequences, question is who is the one taking them.... A great drama and movie, highly recommended