A review of The Judge (2014) by David Dobkin

Reviewed on October 19, 2014

The Judge (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1872194/)

(My title: The Judge Who Couldn't Be Father)

http://www.psicocine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/el-juez-trailer-robert-downey-jr.jpg

Indisputably an Oscar-nominee, including Duvall and Downey Jr for acting. Their on-screen relationship is so powerfully authentic that the easiest thing for even the most skeptical audience is the suspension of disbelief that every filmmaker dreams of.

Set in the Bible belt, the movie's corn-growing Midwest brought back personally good and shocking memories I have of the very same region: attempts to convert me (how do you convert an agnostic? Simple: Bible-belters equated me with a heretic!), the sight of a rifle in a window as I foolishly tried to take photos of a quaint old house-cum-gas station ...

Yet the movie couldn't be more deceptive in its intent especially as it begins with what you could mistake for a My Cousin Vinny-esque urbane resolution to criminal case.

Instead, it ends up being celebratory of the core values of family, professional ethics, and collective social responsibility that Hollywood sweepingly overlooks in its zest to project love, individualism and independence--the other celebrated sides of the same nation. Indeed, the slick, profanity-spewing Downey Jr is the one with an agenda to twist the case free of its ethical burden. The jury's surprise verdict is unbelievable to him. How can winning be less important than any other considerations?

Downey's progression from his own sense of innocence to experience is a highlight. The intricacies oh human vs professional relationships are his voyage through life--his edgy relationships get much more well-rounded, sorted and plain by the end of it all.

The subject is unique to Hollywood, but a social professional-vs-personal dilemma that's far more widely discussed in Indian cinema. (Remember the unforgettably intense Shakti?) While being persistently personal (Duvall's body is so tortured--but can you tell by looking at his immaculate turnout in court? How more American can you get!), the movie's genius lies in its rawness of expression--recall the softly undulating and verdant landscape that hides humanity--along with its message of what's right with the world and its immense spectrum.