The Judge - Review
The Judge , is an uneven, rather dissatisfying film that inhabits the very American genre of the “Coming-home-drama” where the city-based protagonist or protagonists return to their generally “Middle-America”, “small-town” roots for a family occasion or high-school reunion. Often the “small-town” is pretty and even idyllic, contrasting with any family unrest and unhappiness. Protagonist/s often learn lessons from coming home, ultimately soothing family squabbles and find some sort of peace, closure and self-acceptance from the experience. Some good examples include August: Osage County (2013), Junebug (2005), Sweet Home Alabama (2002) and the darkly hilarious Grosse Pointe Blank (1997). Largely The Judge plays no differently to this core plot, but with some quirks added to the mix. Our protagonist is down-in-the-dumps Chicago criminal lawyer Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr) who returns home to Carlinville, Indiana, after hearing his mother has passed away. From the moment...