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Defending one's father, accused of murder, who has exercised the profession of Judge with wisdom and integrity all his life: what could be more dramatic for a lawyer who loves the law above all else.
Robert Downey Jr. plays a difficult and challenging role, significant and imbued with love and emotion.
This legal movie explores the complicated relationship between father and son; Hank (Robert Downey Jr.) is a successful lawyer with a failed marriage behind him, who returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral, from which he had distanced himself to forget the events of his youth; this event rewinds the threads and forces him to deal with the dramas of the past.
Thus, this return becomes an emotional, difficult, and overwhelming journey, and it is also an opportunity for Hank to rediscover and assert himself, repairing where possible, the difficult relationship with his father.
The judge (the great Robert Duvall) is indeed his father; for Hank, the father is an idol, an example to follow, and also a difficult relationship of love and hate.
He harbors great admiration for his father to the point that he has followed in his footsteps, becoming a successful lawyer himself; he has a deep respect for the law, which he knows in all its facets, and for the role his father as a Judge has played all his life; this adoration is such that he knows by heart the phrases his father repeats in court, and this reflects both an unconscious admiration for the father and an attempt at emulation, despite their differences.
And when the sick father must face a difficult trial, Hank decides to defend him, driven by the strong feeling of proving his worth to his father.
"The Judge" is a film that relies heavily on the performances of its actors, particularly on the long and intricate monologues that allow Downey Jr. and the great Duvall to fully express their talent, thanks to the superb screenplay by Nick Schenk and Bill Dubuque.
"The Judge" is an intense and engaging story because, in addition to having an interesting plot and high-quality dialogues, it immerses us in the drama of the characters;
In conclusion, "The Judge" is a film that moves and excites us; it leverages the principles and values that guide the main characters, such as righteousness, honesty, the sense of family, offering us a reflection on the meaning of justice and forgiveness.
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