DUVALL AND DOWNEY. Spot-on portrayals
The current film, “The Judge,” is a flawed drama, but it’s a special viewing treat, because it provides a striking showcase for two standout actors, Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall.
The film is firmly “owned” by Duvall and Downey, because it intentionally provides them more than ample room to show what they can really do as actors.
We say that the film is flawed, because its dramatic progression lacks focus and “organic” build and climax. But, the drama remains viewable due to its two lead players’ exceptional prowess as insightful actors.
Downey “needs” this showcase because he’s become too huge a “bankable” commercial star for his own good, due to his hugely profitable recent starrers, like the “Iron Man” franchise.
He needs to remind viewers that he’s also capable of intimate and incisive “edgework,” which makes many more demands on an actor than just bulking up, coming on strong and playing it grandly, cheekily “super-heroic.”
For his part, Duvall has been semiretired for quite a while now, so “The Judge” is his own vigorous semaphore signal to his loyal followers that he’s still got what it takes to dynamically charge the big screen with a memorable portrayal!