Oscar Nominations
Best Supporting Actor - Robert Duvall
I wasn’t initially planning on reviewing The Judge, as it seemed to me to be just
another average crime drama, albeit one with an impressive cast. And then the Oscar nominations were
announced, with acting veteran Robert Duvall featured prominently in the Best
Supporting Actor category. And so, if
I’m going to be a credible judge as to who should and will win the golden
statue in that category, I should really consider this film a priority. And while the film is by no means
extraordinary, the performances are what make it a worthwhile viewing, not the
least of which is Duvall’s.
This film is one for anyone nostalgic for that time in the
90’s when John Grisham was churning out bestsellers and their adaptations were
topping the box office. This film is also
for anyone who loves homecoming stories from about that same time period. The story here is that Hank (Robert Downey
Jr.) is a big shot defense attorney whose mother passes away, forcing him to
return to his hometown for the funeral.
While there, he reunites with his brothers and his estranged father,
Joseph, a local judge (Duvall). The
experience is an uncomfortable one, but they get through it with a minimum of
drama. However, just as Hank is about to
leave, his father is charged with the murder of someone he had previously sent
to prison, and Hank sticks around to act as his father’s attorney, despite Joseph’s
protests and resistance.
All the appropriate beats of both the legal thriller and the
homecoming genre are hit with almost mechanical efficiency. Of course there are going to be damning facts
revealed that make Joseph appear guilty.
Of course an old love interest is going to catch Hank’s eye and seduce
him back to the small town life. Of
course the film will be populated by stock hicks that alternate between quaint
and boorish. The film goes through all
these motions to the point of near artificiality; we’ve all seen these tropes
before, and the film doesn’t do much to stir the pot.
However, the film shines with its cast. Downey Jr. is his usual smug self, and yet
manages to find some real emotion to push some tender moments with Duvall. Playing Downey Jr.’s brothers are Vincent
D’Onofrio, a performer I always enjoy seeing at work, and Jeremy Strong, who is
the cast’s only weak link as a mentally disabled man played up for often offensive comic
effect. But, of course, the real star is
Robert Duvall, and while I don’t necessarily agree with the Academy’s choice in
nominating him, I do understand it.
Duvall has been around a while, and he knows how to sell a dramatic
scene. Whether it’s navigating the
troublesome waters of emotional interactions with Downey Jr., displaying inner
emotional turmoil through sheer physical movement, or simply collapsing under
the pressure of his character’s physical decrepitude, Duvall really sells a
character that seems to have been written with his talents in mind.
So, as is probably obvious, I don’t think Duvall will or
should win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, but the problem is not so much with
his ability to perform as it is with the material he had to work with. The
Judge is by no means a revolutionary film, and with a weaker cast it would
have likely been a waste of time for everyone involved, including the
audience. However, this cast pulls the
film from the dredges of ineptitude and elevates it into the land of
recommendable mediocrity. If legal
thrillers are your thing, this isn’t a bad one in light of the dry market for
them.
Have a favorite Robert Duvall film? Share it in the comments below.
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