David Dobkin has created a powerful family drama of great emotional complexity and legal intrigue.
Robert Downey Jr shines with subtlety as Hank, a big-city lawyer who returns home to attend his mother's funeral and clashes with his father, the esteemed Judge Joseph, played with earnestness by Robert Duvall.
These acting titans share a scintillating chemistry, uncovering the layers of two proud men dealing with the mistakes of the past.
Their verbal sparring in Joseph's imposing living room crackles with charged subtext as buried feelings surface.
Vera Farmiga and Vincent D'Onofrio bring heart and hysteria to vibrant supporting roles. But it is Duvall who owns the film, imbuing Joseph with a melancholy regret that elevates him as one of his finest late-career performances.
Authentic locations, measured pacing and sharp dialogue accentuate a truly moving father-son story.
Dobkin directs masterfully, without sentimentality, but finding hope in reconciliation. The Judge is a profound portrait of the American justice system and the American family that will stand the test of time.
Masterful performances and quiet narrative power elevate this legal drama above formula. The best Duvall of his career, reminding us why he remains the champion of cinema's emotional heavyweights in his tenth decade.
Though unfairly ignored by Academy voters, The Judge was acclaimed by critics and audiences alike. It grossed $48 million on a budget of $50 million, proving that thoughtful cinema continues to attract substantial audiences.
Robert Duvall received a well-deserved Golden Globe nomination for his penetrating portrayal of Judge Joseph Palmer.
›[ES-EN] Película El Juez Reseña y Opinión 📽// The Judge Movie Review and Opinion 📽@joheredia211962d
El Juez Reseña y Opinión 📽
[Versión En Español]
Hola Hivers, amantes de las películas hoy quiero compartir con toda la comunidad una reseña sobre una película que me recomendaron por la trama y por las actuaciones de sus actores principales, esta es una película no tan nueva, de hecho es publicada en el 2014, sin embargo, debido a la trama no tuvo mucha publicidad en su lanzamiento, esta película la podemos disfrutar en la plataforma de Netflix.
The Judge es una película de drama, dirigida por David Dobkin y protagonizada por Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga y Vincent D'Onofrio, sin duda un gran elenco, en mi opinión este es uno de los aspectos que más atraen a los espectadores a buscar The Judge en su pantalla de Netflix, tal vez el nombre de la producción no sea muy atractiva, sin embargo, colocar de protagonistas a Robert Downey Jr. con Robert Duvall es un atractivo para los que disfrutamos de sus actuaciones.
Sinopsis:
Robert Downey Jr interpreta a Hank Palmer, un exitoso abogado que se aleja de su familia debido a su trabajo, con serios problemas matrimoniales recibe una noticia fatal desde su pueblo natal, viaje desde Chicago a Carlinville, donde posteriormente deberá asumir el caso más importante de su vida, defender a su padre que es el juez en el condado pero es acusado de cometer un terrible delito. No será fácil para Hank revivir recuerdos del pasado en Carlinville, sin embargo, decide ayudar a su padre en el juicio que le cambaría la vida a ambos.
Debemos resaltar la actuación de Robert Downey Jr, es realmente impresionante como se adapta a este tipo de personajes exitosos pero con algunos problemas personales, un gran hablador pero que en el fondo tiene un buen corazón, la verdad me pareció ver en la película a Tony Stark de Iron Man ser el abogado, los personajes se asemejan bastante en sus actitudes, siempre Robert nos hace actuaciones memorables como en Iroman o en Sherlock Holmes, sus actuaciones son muy atractivas para el público.
Que decir de Robert Duvall, un reconocido y premiado actor, su interpretación es realmente magnifica como el padre de Hank Palmer, el juez estas dos actuaciones de Downey y de Duvall son el aspecto más relevante de esta producción cinematográfica.
En el siguiente segmento realizaré un análisis de la película con un pequeño resumen, debo advertir como es de costumbre que el material contiene spoilers, sin embargo, al final de la publicación dejaré mi opinión y calificación sobre la película The Judge.
Hank Palmer parece ser de esos abogados obsesionados con su trabajo que por dinero hace lo que sus clientes le pidan, podemos notar varios aspectos en la película en la cual ponemos en duda la moralidad de este abogado, al parecer defiende a los culpables que son económicamente poderosos, según este abogado “los inocentes no tienen como pagar”. Debido a su obsesión en el trabajo descuida a su esposa e hija, a pesar de que este personaje alardea de su exitosa vida, en su hogar se comienza a derrumbar su matrimonio, su esposa le es infiel y es consciente de eso, sin embargo, no sabe cómo manejarlo.
Recibe una noticia verdaderamente trágica, su madre ha fallecido, para asistir a su funeral deberá realizar un viaje desde Chicago hasta Carlinville donde vivió su infancia y donde sigue viviendo su familia, es un pueblo tranquilo y su padre Joseph Palmer es un juez implacable que intenta hacer justicia en este pequeño pueblo con un carácter indomable.
Al llegar Hank a la casa de su padre podemos notar que existe una mala relación entre el abogado y el juez, incluso en muchas oportunidades ni se saludan, solamente movimiento de cabeza o un saludo de manos frio. Al parecer Hank amaba a su madre, notamos que este abogado con dudosa moralidad respetaba y amaba en gran manera a la fallecida madre.
Al funeral asisten sus hermanos Glenn y Dale, el primero es dueño de una tienda de llantas y Dale tiene autismo, parece un niño con pasión por las viejas cámaras de video. Estos hermanos se la llevan bien, sin embargo, dentro del corazón de Hank existe el deseo de tener la aceptación de su padre.
Todo cambia el mismo dia del funeral de la madre de Hank, Joseph, el padre de Hank conduce solo a comprar víveres y al siguiente día los hermanos notan golpes en el automóvil, sin darle mucha importancia y no soportando la actitud de su padre Hank decide volver a Chicago, sin embargo, una llamada antes del despegue lo cambia todo. Su padre es sospechoso de atropellar a un hombre, el cadáver lo encontraron en a un lado del camino, Hank decide bajar del avión y ayudar a arreglar las cosas en este nuevo problema.
Joseph es un hombre con un carácter bastante obstinado no quiere la ayuda de su hijo, de cierta manera se observa que presenta cierto rencor hacia Hank, poco a poco en la película veremos lo que condujo a que esta relación padre e hijo se volviera un tormento. Joseph decide hacer las cosas a su manera, ir al juzgado demostrar su inocencia y terminar ese capítulo de su vida, sin embargo, las pruebas contra Joseph son contundentes e incriminan su automóvil con el asesinato de un hombre que andaba en bicicleta, la sangre de la víctima esta esparcida en su auto.
Ante esta situación Joseph se muestra tranquilo, alegando que el sigue teniendo el control de la cosas cuando en realidad el caso se le está escurriendo de entre las manos, a pesar de muchos intentos de Hank, su padre se resiste a obtener su ayuda.
La razón de esta mala relación se encuentra en un accidente que ocurrió en la juventud de los hermanos, Hank era un joven bastante rebelde su padre temía por su futuro así que fue muy duró en su crianza, al ser juez aplicaba la ley a todos, incluso a su hijo que lo obligó a realizar trabajo comunitario para buscar enderezar su camino. Su hermano Glen por otra parte era un gran favorito de su padre, tenía un gran futuro en el béisbol como lanzador, incluso los ojeadores de grandes equipos lo tenían en la mira para ofrecerle un contrato que lo lanzara a la fama de las grandes ligas. Este era sueño de Joseph, ver a su hijo en las ligas mayores lanzado, dando honor al apellido Palmer, era su mayor orgullo.
Las cosas cambiaron de rumbo cuando Hank iba conduciendo el auto de la familia y chocaron contra un árbol en la carretera, el auto se volcó y los jóvenes sufrieron heridas, Glen sufrió una grave lesión en su muñeca, haciendo que el sueño del béisbol se desvaneciera ante los ojos de su padre. Definitivamente esta era una de las razones en las cuales Joseph tenía una guerra contra Hank que además se fue del pueblo y prácticamente se olvidó de su familia, esa amargura la arrastraba Joseph en el presente y era un muro que dividía al padre y a su hijo.
Hank luego se da cuenta que su padre tiene graves problemas de salud, un cáncer está acabando poco a poco su vida, el tratamiento hace que en momentos Joseph pierda la conciencia el cual le hace realizar acciones que luego no las recuerda. Hank se da cuenta que esto explicaría por qué su padre realizaría ese acto violento y que no lo recuerde. Otra pista es que Joseph arrastraba un sentimiento de culpa desde hace varios años, libero a un hombre que al tiempo asesinó despiadadamente a una niña, este acontecimiento lo marcó psicológicamente y se arrepentía todos los días de haber liberado a un hombre que había ahogado a una inocente niña, ese asesino fue el que atropello aquella noche.
En este punto encontramos el motivo por la que Joseph decidió acabar con la vida del asesino, sin embargo su mente no estaba funcionando correctamente debido a los medicamentos contra el cáncer que estaba recibiendo. Hank tiene el caso en sus manos, alegando de que su padre no estaba consciente de lo que estaba haciendo por lo tanto debía quedar libre, sin embargo, su padre al tener un enorme orgullo no quería admitir ante la corte su enfermedad y las consecuencias de la misma, implicaría una gran mancha en su trabajo como juez, debido a que muchos de los casos que llevó a cabo desde que recibió el tratamiento serian anulados.
El orgullo del juez era realmente impresionante, en el juicio admitió haber asesinado al joven en bicicleta, sin embargo, alegaba que no recordaba lo sucedido, en medio de juicio Hank muestra ante el jurado la enfermedad de su padre y su tratamiento, sosteniendo la teoría de que su padre no era consciente de sus actos, una mancha para la carrera del juez.
El jurado lo declara culpable de homicidio involuntario y es condenado a pasar 8 meses en la cárcel, destrozado Hank vuelve a chicago. Al cumplir la condena padre e hijo vuelven a encontrarse, su encuentro es pescando en el lago donde pasaron muchos momentos juntos en la infancia de Hank, su padre al recibir esa condena y estar básicamente al borde de la muerte le dice a su hijo que siempre estuvo orgulloso de él, que sabe que fue duro en un principio pero que lo perdonara.
En medio de esta escena Joseph le responde una pregunta que le había hecho su hijo meses atrás, la pregunta se refería a su abogado favorito, Joseph contesta tu eres mi abogado favorito, el mejor abogado que he visto en mi vida, siempre estuve orgulloso. Ante esta respuesta y con lágrimas en los ojos padre e hijo derriban el muro que los separaba. Pocos segundos después, sentado en el bote Joseph fallece, sin embargo, ha ganado algo más importante que el juicio que al final lo llevo a la cárcel, el perdón y la aceptación de su hijo, hacer las paces antes de morir fue lo realmente significativo para Joseph.
Hank, luego de todos los acontecimientos es un hombre nuevo, intenta no ser un gran defensor de la injusticia por ganar dinero, decide pasar más tiempo en su pueblo natal. La escena final es Hank entrando al juzgado y tocando aquella silla donde su padre se sentó por muchos años.
Opinión.
El drama es el condimento principal de esta película, acompañado de excelentes actuaciones, no es una película con mucha acción como las que nos tiene acostumbrados Robert Downey Jr, sin embargo, entender la esencia de la película es primordial para realizar una crítica. Pienso que esta película es muy entretenida para los amantes del drama, en lo particular me hubiera gustado ver una escena entre Hank y su hermano haciendo los pases y abrazándose, la filmación se centró solo en los personajes principales.
En mi opinión es una buena película, de esas que no le gustan a muchos por lo lento de la trama, sin embargo está bien desarrollada, mi calificación es de 6,5/10. Se las recomiendo a los amantes del drama, las disputas familiares y las reconciliaciones.
Un verdadero placer haber escrito para todos los hivers de esta grandiosa comunidad, espero haya sido de su agrado este contenido, un gran saludo.
Gracias por tu lectura, hasta la próxima
The Judge Movie Review and Opinion 📽
[English Version]
Hello Hivers, movie lovers today I want to share with the whole community a review about a movie that was recommended to me because of the plot and the performances of its main actors, this is a not so new movie, in fact it is published in 2014, however, due to the plot it did not have much publicity in its release, this movie we can enjoy it on the Netflix platform.
The Judge is a drama film, directed by David Dobkin and starring Robert Downey Jr, Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga and Vincent D'Onofrio, certainly a great cast, in my opinion this is one of the aspects that most attract viewers to look for The Judge on their Netflix screen, perhaps the name of the production is not very attractive, however, placing Robert Downey Jr. as protagonists with Robert Duvall is an attraction for those of us who enjoy their performances.
Synopsis:
Robert Downey Jr plays Hank Palmer, a successful lawyer who is away from his family due to his job, with serious marital problems receives fatal news from his hometown, travels from Chicago to Carlinville, where he must subsequently take on the most important case of his life, defending his father who is the judge in the county but is accused of committing a terrible crime. It will not be easy for Hank to relive memories of the past in Carlinville, however, he decides to help his father in the trial that would change both of their lives.
We must highlight the performance of Robert Downey Jr, it is really impressive how he adapts to this type of successful characters but with some personal problems, a great talker but deep down has a good heart, the truth seemed to me to see in the film Tony Stark from Iron Man to be the lawyer, the characters are quite similar in their attitudes, Robert always makes us memorable performances as in Iroman or Sherlock Holmes, his performances are very attractive to the public.
What to say about Robert Duvall, a recognized and award winning actor, his interpretation is really magnificent as Hank Palmer's father, the judge, these two performances of Downey and Duvall are the most relevant aspect of this film production.
In the following segment I will analyze the film with a short summary, I must warn as usual that the material contains spoilers, however, at the end of the publication I will leave my opinion and rating about the film The Judge.
Hank Palmer seems to be one of those lawyers obsessed with his work that for money he does whatever his clients ask him to do, we can notice several aspects in the film in which we question the morality of this lawyer, apparently he defends the guilty who are economically powerful, according to this lawyer "the innocent have no way to pay". Due to his obsession with his work, he neglects his wife and daughter, despite the fact that this character boasts of his successful life, his marriage begins to collapse at home, his wife is unfaithful and he is aware of that, however, he does not know how to handle it.
He receives truly tragic news, his mother has died, to attend her funeral he must make a trip from Chicago to Carlinville where he lived his childhood and where his family still lives, it is a quiet town and his father Joseph Palmer is a ruthless judge who tries to do justice in this small town with an indomitable character.
When Hank arrives at his father's house we can notice that there is a bad relationship between the lawyer and the judge, even on many occasions they don't even greet each other, just a nod of the head or a cold handshake. Apparently Hank loved his mother, we notice that this lawyer with dubious morality respected and loved the deceased mother in a great way.
The funeral is attended by his brothers Glenn and Dale, the former owns a tire store and Dale has autism, he seems to be a child with a passion for old video cameras. These brothers get along well, however, inside Hank's heart there is a desire to have his father's acceptance.
Everything changes the same day of Hank's mother's funeral, Joseph, Hank's father drives alone to buy groceries and the next day the brothers notice bumps in the car, without giving it much importance and not putting up with his father's attitude Hank decides to return to Chicago, however, a call before takeoff changes everything. Their father is suspected of running over a man, the body was found on the side of the road, Hank decides to get off the plane and help fix things in this new problem.
Joseph is a man with a very stubborn character who does not want his son's help, in a certain way it is observed that he has a grudge against Hank, little by little in the film we will see what led this father and son relationship to become a torment. Joseph decides to do things his way, go to court to prove his innocence and end this chapter of his life, however, the evidence against Joseph is overwhelming and incriminates his car with the murder of a man riding a bicycle, the victim's blood is scattered in his car.
In this situation Joseph is calm, claiming that he is still in control of things when in reality the case is slipping through his fingers, despite Hank's many attempts, his father is reluctant to get his help.
The reason for this bad relationship lies in an accident that occurred in the brothers' youth, Hank was a rather rebellious young man his father feared for his future so he was very harsh in his upbringing, being a judge he enforced the law on everyone, even his son who forced him to do community work to seek to straighten his path. His brother Glen on the other hand was a great favorite of his father, he had a great future in baseball as a pitcher, even the scouts of big teams had him in their sights to offer him a contract that would launch him to the fame of the big leagues. This was Joseph's dream, to see his son pitching in the major leagues, honoring the Palmer name, was his greatest pride.
Things took a turn for the worse when Hank was driving the family car and they hit a tree in the road, the car overturned and the young men suffered injuries, Glen suffered a serious injury to his wrist, causing the baseball dream to fade before his father's eyes. This was definitely one of the reasons Joseph had a war against Hank who also left town and practically forgot about his family, that bitterness was carried by Joseph in the present and was a wall dividing father and son.
Hank then realizes that his father has serious health problems, a cancer is slowly ending his life, the treatment makes Joseph lose consciousness at times which makes him perform actions that he does not remember. Hank realizes that this would explain why his father would perform this violent act and not remember it. Another clue is that Joseph dragged a feeling of guilt for several years, he released a man who at the time mercilessly murdered a girl, this event marked him psychologically and he regretted every day to have released a man who had drowned an innocent girl, that murderer was the one who ran over that night.
At this point we find the reason why Joseph decided to end the life of the murderer, however his mind was not working properly due to the cancer drugs he was receiving. Hank has the case in his hands, claiming that his father was not aware of what he was doing therefore he should be free, however, his father having an enormous pride did not want to admit to the court his illness and the consequences of it, it would imply a great stain on his work as a judge, because many of the cases he carried out since he received the treatment would be annulled.
The judge's pride was really impressive, in the trial he admitted having murdered the young man on a bicycle, however, he claimed that he did not remember what happened, in the middle of the trial Hank shows before the jury his father's illness and his treatment, sustaining the theory that his father was not aware of his actions, a stain for the judge's career.
The jury convicts him of involuntary manslaughter and he is sentenced to 8 months in jail, shattered Hank returns to Chicago. Upon serving his sentence father and son meet again, their encounter is fishing on the lake where they spent many moments together in Hank's childhood, his father upon receiving that sentence and basically being on the verge of death tells his son that he was always proud of him, that he knows it was hard at first but that he will forgive him.
In the middle of this scene Joseph answers a question that his son had asked him months before, the question referred to his favorite lawyer, Joseph answers you are my favorite lawyer, the best lawyer I've ever seen in my life, I was always proud. At this answer and with tears in his eyes, father and son tear down the wall that separated them. A few seconds later, sitting in the boat Joseph dies, however, he has won something more important than the trial that ultimately led him to jail, forgiveness and acceptance of his son, making peace before he died was what was really significant for Joseph.
Hank, after all the events is a new man, he tries not to be a great defender of injustice for the sake of making money, he decides to spend more time in his hometown. The final scene is Hank entering the courthouse and touching that chair where his father sat for many years.
Opinion.
The drama is the main spice of this movie, accompanied by excellent performances, it is not a movie with a lot of action as we are used to Robert Downey Jr, however, understanding the essence of the film is paramount to make a review. I think this movie is very entertaining for drama lovers, in particular I would have liked to see a scene between Hank and his brother doing the passes and hugging, the filming focused only on the main characters.
In my opinion it is a good movie, one of those that many don't like because of the slow plot, however it is well developed, my rating is 6.5/10. I recommend it to lovers of drama, family disputes and reconciliations.
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.
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.
[Image](https://www.filmaffinity.com/ve/filmimages.php?movie_id=934433)
[Image](https://www.filmaffinity.com/ve/filmimages.php?movie_id=934433)
