10s Movie Review - The Judge

Director: David Dobkin
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 141 minutes
Year: 2014
Starring: Robert Downey Jr. Robert Duvall, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jeremy Strong, Vera Farmiga, Billy Bob Thornton, Leighton Meester, Dax Shepard, David Krumholtz, Sarah Lancaster

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2025 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 33: A FILM WITH ROBERT DOWNEY JR.
 
Description: Big-city lawyer Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.) returns to his childhood home where his father (Robert Duvall), the town’s judge, is suspected of murder. Hank sets out to discover the truth; along the way he reconnects with his estranged family.

Review: Hank Palmer is the last person to care what others think of him. The unstoppable lawyer tells it like it is. Hank is the kind of person who dares to speak the truth, even if others would rather not hear it. He admits that the white-collar criminals he defends are most likely guilty, and that doesn’t bother him: “Innocent people can’t afford me”.

When he returns to his hometown, after his mother passed, he is confronted with everything he fled back then. The untouchable lawyer from Chicago does care about other people’s opinions. In fact, he appears to be deeply hurt. The difficult and destructive relationship with his father is the reason for his departure, years ago. And now his father, the local judge, is suspected of murder. Hanks tries to uncover the truth, and father and son both grow closer and come into direct conflict with each other.

“The Judge” boasts an impressive cast: Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Billy Bob Thornton and Vincent D’Onofrio. The first tow in particular are given plenty of room to shine. Downey Jr. is irritating, moving, unyielding and vulnerable all at once. His comedic talent and timing are beyond question. With Hank Palmer, he manages to portray a decisive but also wounded prodigal son.

Director David Dobkin takes the time to introduce the characters and clarify the relationship with the family. the underlying tension between the father and sons is constantly palpable from the moment Hanks returns.

It is also clever how Dobkin unfolds the story. “The Judge” is above all a relational drama, but it is also a courtroom drama. On top of the flawed father-son relationship, there is the murder allegation, which interact with each other, but beyond that there are even more subplots. And all but one of these subplots I really cared about. I didn’t care about the love interest part of the story. They could have left that out.

The film has well-developed characters, excellent performances, a clever structure, and good suspense. I would recommend “The Judge”.

Rating: 4 / 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 31: This is Where I Leave You

Director: Shawn Levy

Genre: Drama/ Comedy

Runtime: 103 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Adam Driver, Corey Stoll, Dax Shepard, Connie Britton, Timothy Olyphant, Rose Byrne, Katherine Hahn, Abigail Spencer, Debra Monk

Description: When their father passes away, four grown siblings are forced to return to their childhood home and live under the same roof together for a week, along with their over-sharing mother and an assortment of spouses, exes and might-have-beens.

Review: In “This is Where I Leave You” we follow a family that comes together after the father of the family died. There are a lot of unsolved issues, frictions and relationship problems and this doesn’t make the mourning process any easier.

After Judd finds his wife in bed with his boss, he gets a call from his sister Wendy, that their father passed away. His father wants to be buried within the Jewish tradition and this means they have a ‘sitting Shiva’. Here people will visit them for an entire week, to give them their condolences. Which also means that the family has to be together the entire time.

The family is a party of five: Judd, sister Wendy, oldest brother Paul, youngest brother Philip and mother Hilary. Judd is trying to deal with his upcoming divorce and he also bumps into a woman he used to like. Wendy is married with two children, but her husband is a work-aholic and she is secretly still in love with her first love Horry, who she was in an accident with. Paul and his wife Annie are desperately trying to have a child, but nothing has worked so far. Philip, who just brought home his new girlfriend Tracey who is much older, never really grew up. Mother Hilary has to deal with all her children, while also saying her final goodbyes to her husband.

The movie is a mix of drama and comedy, but the focus is more on the drama. Although that’s very light. There are subtle jokes and especially the dysfunctionality of the family is funny. All the characters are really interesting to get to know.

The cast is really good. Jason Bateman plays a role he has played before, but he is likeable and proofs he can carry a movie. Tina Fey is also strong in a more serious role then we are used to from her. Adam Driver is solid and Jane Fonda is delightful as the mother, who sometimes overshares information that as a kid you wouldn’t be very happy with.

“This is Where I Leave You” is an excellent film about a family with problems. Dysfunctional families somehow always interest me, it reminds me of how great mine is.

Rating: 4,5/ 5