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THE JUDGE

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* * * * (Joyce)

* * * ½

(Don) courtroom/

relationship drama)

Joyce liked this melodramatic relationship movie a bit more than I did. While we both agreed that the acting and the cinematography was excellent, I thought the story occasionally slipped into soap opera mode.

Robert Downey Jr. plays Hank, a cocky, “win at any cost” Chicago lawyer who returns to his small Indiana hometown to attend his mother’s funeral.

Hank and his father, Judge Palmer (Robert Duvall), have been estranged for years. The truth is, they hate each other. Hank is quick to leave after the funeral, only to be detained when the judge is accused of vehicular murder, killing an old rival and setting in motion conflict between father and son, as Hank tries to defend him.

There are conflicts galore in this two-hour and 20-minute movie. Hank is going through a divorce, and there is a cute little daughter in the middle. Hank’s older brother resents him for leaving him with the care of their father and autistic younger brother. Hank has problems reconnecting with his old girlfriend and her grown daughter, a situation that becomes very sticky.

It’s all about internal and external conflicts, broken relationships and, eventually, getting at the truth.

Judge Palmer is as ornery as could be, and his mutual dislike for his son is examined from all angles.

Beneath all of this is the question of guilt. The underlying details of the crash that killed a man that the judge disliked immensely come in conflict (there’s that word again) with father and son, all leading to a dramatic conclusion. There’s a lot going on in this movie, a bit too much for me, but not for Joyce.

We learn a bit about how negative feelings developed through the eight millimeter movies that the younger brother shows every chance he gets, but we wonder if there ever can be reconciliation between father and son.

The trial scenes are quite interesting, if a bit melodramatic. Billy Bob Thornton is coldly brilliant as the prosecuting attorney. Dax Shepard of “Parenthood” plays a backwoods local lawyer. There are other good supporting characters that add to the complex story.

While not perfect, “The Judge” will give you lots to digest and think about.

Rated R, with profanity.

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