Today I decided to comment on a film that is a little different from the ones I have commented so far, a judicial drama loaded with good performances and a message that I find excellent to highlight. The director David Dobkin, with a not very outstanding filmography, made the, for me, the best of his films, and of which I have wanted to speak, taking advantage of that I saw it for the second time recently, I am speaking of The Judge.

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Year: 2014 Category: Legal Drama Director: David Dobkin Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jeremy Strong, Dax Shepard, Leighton Meester, Billy Bob Thornton.

Plot

The film tells the story of a very successful lawyer in the big city, who returns to his childhood home, where his estranged father, city judge, is suspected in a murder crime.

Opinion

I must say that this is a film that I like, and a lot, I do not know if due to its inherent qualities or to my particular way of perceiving what the whole conception of the film shows us.

The film shows us a lawyer with a very high status, cynical and self-serving, who is dedicated to making money defending, without any remorse, corrupt people. A character who perceives himself as someone successful. Under my personal observation, this character, Hank Palmer, represents the figure of what we currently call someone "successful", those people with great skill and knowledge, but who use their attributes to achieve personal success without thinking about ethics and moral.

The death of his mother will force Hank to return to his hometown in Indiana and face the authoritarian figure of his father, who is the judge of the town. This is where the most important and profound part of the film is shown, since it shows us that the son and the father, although both dedicate their lives to the courts, have a very different conception of things. The son who lives in the city, has a model wife, drives a sports car, and has a lot of money, as opposed to the more traditional father, with a modest house, in a modest town and who has a modest car, but gives great importance to the esteem of their fellow citizens and especially to ethics and morals. So there is a confrontation between a morally responsible vision and another vision that is not so responsible but rather results-oriented.

After the death, apparently accidental, of a man whom the judge condemned years ago, the protagonist's father is accused of murder. This is what leads to the development of what is truly interesting about the film, because although it seems that it is about trials and lawyers, it is really about the family, the values, and the return to the roots, roots that the protagonist has at the origin of its conflict with the father. While the father decides to face the trial with the honesty that characterizes him, the son, to win the trial, wants to use the deceptive methodology that is usual in the city, however, the iron will of the father does not allow him to do that, so if the Hank wants to help in the trial, he must do it in the right way.

The film shows the vulnerability of men in situations that escape their abilities and intelligence. Complex situations such as illness, unbreakable blood ties, and personal conflicts are constantly present throughout the film. It is a film that makes us laugh, that causes us intrigue, and that makes us question some things, and even, is able to make those more sensitive, also cry a little, allowing one to remember what it is to be human, be a son, be a father, be a brother.

A simple movie, but nice.

Trailer

Score

7/10

It is a story with which it is easy for us to identify ourselves. The combination of intimate and personal travel combined with a judicial plot makes it, in my personal opinion, truly entertaining.