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The Judge Movie Review

The Judge is a 2014 legal drama film directed by David Dobkin and starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall. It is a well acted, but maudlin film.

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“Everyone wants Atticus Finch

until there’s a dead hooker in a bathtub“

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Years after he returns to his hometown, Chicago-based lawyer Hank Palmer decides to fight the case for his father, Joseph, who is accused of murder. This movie was obviously made to be both a crowd-pleaser and an Oscar-bait, but it ended up succeeding only in the former. There is so much old-fashioned sentimentality and broadness that it couldn’t appeal to anybody who has ever watched more than a dozen movies in their life.

The only legitimate reason to see The Judge is for the performances. Robert Downey Jr. won his Oscar for ‘Oppenheimer’, which was one of his worst works to date, but maybe a part of that decision by the Academy was due to this performance that was undeniably one of his best. He was perfectly cast as Hank, and although it’s a showy performance, it fits his acting style and his personality, so he was excellent throughout.

Another standout is Robert Duvall, who ended up receiving the only Oscar nomination for his work as Joseph. He was also terrific and very believable in the role. The best scenes in the film are those where the two are arguing as both actors did such a good job and their interplay was fantastic.

But eventually it all leads to a typically predictable, emotionally manipulative territory with the ending being way too sentimental for its own sake. Most of the movie lacked subtlety in cinematography, directing and characterization, which made it frustratingly obvious. The courtroom scenes were also the weakest of the bunch as they lacked the energy and conviction of some of the best works in that genre.

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The Judge also failed to develop any of its supporting characters, mostly focusing on the main pairing. The result is an overlong, tiring movie that would have been much stronger had it been an hour shorter. There just wasn’t enough story material for two and a half hours here. The editing and pacing are poor and the overall technicalities are uninspired. The dialogue ranges from pretty solid to on-the-nose. It’s such a populist movie.