The Judge (2014)

Summary: When the mother of hot shot Chicago lawyer, Hank Palmer, dies he returns to small town Indiana for the funeral. He and his father, the judge of the title, are at odds and he finds that the family have enemies in the town. He rubs up against a young woman who turns out to be the daughter of an old flame. Is the daughter his? Later he gets back in the aircraft, only to be recalled because his father has been accused of First Degree murder, after running down a town miscreant in his Cadillac. The father cannot remember what happened and Hank learns that he is undergoing cancer therapy, which may be causing lapses in the old man’s memory. After some difficulty Hank is appointed as co-council with the local attorney. Can he save his dad from life imprisonment?

Content: No sex or nudity, but a bit of snogging. A fair bit of drinking. Hank and his dad argue a lot and over time seem to be reconciled,  particularly when Hank’s daughter visits. Some quite disturbing scenes as the judge suffers the effects of Stage 4 cancer, puking and defecating uncontrollably. A lot of court room scenes firstly as Hank is banned to the public benches, and then when he is signed on as the defending council.

A View: The critics did not like this a lot mainly because they felt the script was clichéd, however Robert Duval was nominated for a Oscar. The very twinkly group of stars must have cost a lot, probably resulting in the film losing  a bit of money, but they did very well, making the film almost worth watching. It made a change to see Robert Downey Jr doing something other than being Iron Man. So probably worth your time if you like courtroom stuff.

Vera Farmiga has become well known for her part in The Conjuring franchise, but she also does well in At Middleton and the very unusual Source Code.

A View: The critics did not like this a lot mainly because they felt the script was clichéd, however Robert Duval was nominated for a Oscar. The very twinkly group of stars must have cost a lot, probably resulting in the film losing  a bit of money, but they did very well, making the film almost worth watching. It made a change to see Robert Downey Jr doing something other than being Iron Man. So probably worth your time if you like courtroom stuff. Vera Farmiga has become well known for her part in The Conjuring franchise, but she also does well in At Middleton and the very unusual Source Code.