Written By Heather Hoelscher

Assistant Features Editor

Robert Downey Jr. gives the performances of his career in this falls comedy/drama “The Judge.” Downey gave a powerful performance as the smart and witty attorney Hank. While in the courtroom he performs with such emotion, the passion he has for this character is clear.

“Once I got that first draft, about a little over a year into developing it. I brought it to Susan and Robert, and they joined on. We worked for two and a half years, just between writers, on our own, working on it, talking about it,” said David Dobkin, director of the Judge, to Huffington post.

Downey and his wife Susan had a lot to do with the development of this film. After getting the rough draft of the script, they were all on board to start filming this movie.

“The Judge” brings to the screen intense family relationships with some family humor.

“It’s harder to find a market for character-driven films in cinemas, but there’s a real desire for this kind of movie which is really satisfying,” Downey said to Sky News.

Robert Duvall, who plays the Judge Joseph Palmer, has some animosity toward Downey’s character Hank Palmer, his son and an attorney in Chicago. The past of this family has some darkness and they clearly show this through the moments the characters have with each other.

This pain that this father and son duo have about what happened in the past is truly heartbreaking. They together had lost someone, which really tears the family apart.

This family is very dysfunctional but as the movie moves forward you see the heart they always had underneath for each other. There is a scene, in particular, where Hank helps his father in the bathroom when he falls is moving.

“Like the movie, I believe the heart of that scene isn’t anything that’s graphic or deep or dramatic about it. I think it’s the turn that the scene takes,” said Downey to Variety.

Duvall’s character was previously a high-profile Judge in small town Indiana. An incident happened that caused Hank to come back to Indiana from Chicago. While he was there, Joseph, had issues with the law. An accident happened a while back and this issue is now coming to light.

Joseph needs Hank but because of his relationship with his son he refuses this help. He is referred to another attorney played by Dax Shepard, who shows us how funny he really is as an actor. He brings humor to this somewhat serious courtroom based movie. Shepard has great comedic timing and brings his country character to life.

The actors also work wonderfully together. They play off each other like this star-studded cast should. When the brothers would talk with each other the audience can really see them as brothers. They had great chemistry. When the father, Joseph, and Hank were on screen they show anger through facial expressions and body language. With some scenes showing the love for each other. They give an outstanding performance.

Billy Bob Thornton, the prosecutor against Joseph in the trial, played the perfect character. He added the evil-ish character that the movie almost needed.

“When a shoot’s going well, it’s a lot lighter,” he said. “We had so many laughs during the times where you’d think we’d be somber doing our deep preparation and all that stuff. It also helps that we have (Duvall). He loves to tell stories,” Downey said to Variety.

This movie has crime, loss, love and family conflict. “The Judge” really brings all elements of life to really make it relatable to its audience.

I’d give this movie four out of five stars.