The Judge (2014)

Perhaps the most notable thing about this flick is that it made Robert Duvall the oldest Oscar nominee yet, at 84. That record has since been broken. Of course, I was just as likely to have been drawn in by the lead actor, Robert Downey, Jr.

Hank (Downey) is an especially scuzzy lawyer, favoring guilty clients for profit, which may explain why he's getting a divorce and hasn't seen any of his birth family in ages. The latter changes when he attends his mother's funeral in her fictitious hometown of Carlinville, Indiana. He's eager to head back to Chicago -- until his father, Joseph (Duvall), a long-time judge, gets arrested for a fatal hit and run on an ex-con (Mark Kiely) Joseph might well have wanted to kill. Sensing how inadequate a local defense attorney (Dax Shepard) is, Hank reluctantly steps up to the plate, but Joseph, who can't remember hitting anyone, may prefer to be found guilty of second-degree murder if the alternative is to publicize his waning mental faculties. And the prosecutor (Billy Bob Thornton) is determined.

You may think Joseph's priorities silly, especially since his memory lapses stem from chemotherapy rather than plain senility. But we are talking about a judge in a criminal court. Who knows how many of his sentences would get overturned? More than that, he worries that this will completely overshadow the positive side of his legacy. Hank thinks Carlinville too insignificant for honor, but to a man who always lived there, of course it matters.

The bread and butter of this story is the relationship between Hank and Joseph. They are extraordinarily hostile at first, having amassed many complaints about each other over the decades, and both sides have a point. If not for Joseph, Hank probably would have sooner visited his brothers, Glen (Vincent D'Onofrio) and Dale (Jeremy Strong), the latter having an intellectual disability and thus dependent. Concern for Dale is one reason to want Joseph acquitted, but in time, it's not just family loyalty driving Hank. The cancerous old recovering alcoholic (Joseph says "recovered," but some people insist there's no such thing) is rather pitiable now.

A side plot concerns Hank's love life beyond his soon-to-be-ex-wife (Sarah Lancaster). He gets back in touch with his ex-girlfriend, Sam (Vera Farmiga), who still has feelings for him despite knowing how bad he is. He also comes disturbingly close to scoring with Sam's daughter (Leighton Meester) before knowing better. I'm not sure what the writers thought we'd get out of that. I'm more pleased to see Hank's cute daughter (Emma Tremblay) follow him to Carlinville, even if it's awkward to cast a kid in an R movie.

Indeed, the main complaints from critics concern uninspired writing and bland characters other than the main two. I hadn't really noticed the latter at the time, given where the attention lies, but there are a few cookie-cutter types. I see that the writers aren't known for much else.

The Judge isn't exactly a feel-good movie. At best, it's poignant, if you can bring yourself to care enough. For my part, I was kind of glad to dwell on subjects I don't normally think about, and it seems credible enough. Just don't expect anything especially fresh.