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Team Downey
Village Roadshow Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures
Not part of a collection.
Defend your Honor.
A successful lawyer returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral only to discover that his estranged father, the town's judge, is suspected of murder.
CinemaSerf
Oct 18, 2026 · via TMDB
"Hank" (Robert Downey Jr) is one of those shrewd and unscrupulous defence lawyers who always manages to get his dodgy clients off - even when he suspects that they are as guilty as sin. He's had a long-term estranged relationship with his dad, the judge of forty-two years (Robert Duvall) which a trip back home for his mother's funeral does little to repair, but shortly after he returns to Chicago he gets a call to advise that his dad has been involved in an hit and run - and might well be facing murder charges. He returns to defend a man he finds insufferably overbearing and detatched and over the course of the next couple of hours we learn a little of what drove the wedge between them and his two brothers "Glen" (Vincent D'Onofrio) and the not exactly robust "Dale" (Jeremy Strong) whilst he sort of rekindles a romance with "Sam" (Vera Farmiga). There are a few moments of poignancy here from Duvall as we follow his character into an almost torpid sense of despair after the death of his wife, coupled with a general unloading of family baggage and decades-old pent up stresses between himself and his son. It's on this front that the film works best and there is a solid chemistry between Duvall and Downey Jr - especially as the gloves come off. There is also quite an effectively calming effort from Billy Bob Thornton as the prosecuting attorney who is any may ways the anthesis of "Hank" and though I found the courtroom scenes a little too predictable, the plot towards the conclusion certainly isn't as it raises quite a few questions about vengeance, justice and he toxicity of old grudges.
Narate
Nov 20, 2024 · via TMDB
_"It's fine. Innocent people can't afford me."_ This movie came and went and no one really cared so I never checked it out til now. Pity it didn't do well because while the story is ok, the acting is pretty good. RDJ, Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jeremy Strong, Billy Bob? This thing is packed! Might be a little too long, but the emotional father parts got to me.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Robert Downey Jr.
Hank Palmer
Robert Duvall
Joseph Palmer
Vera Farmiga
Samantha Powell
Vincent D'Onofrio
Glen Palmer
Jeremy Strong
Dale Palmer
Dax Shepard
C.P. Kennedy
Billy Bob Thornton
Dwight Dickham
Leighton Meester
Carla Powell
Ken Howard
Judge Warren
Emma Tremblay
Lauren Palmer
Balthazar Getty
Deputy Hanson
David Krumholtz
Mike Kattan
Grace Zabriskie
Mrs. Blackwell
Denis O'Hare
Doc Morris
Sarah Lancaster
Lisa Palmer
Lonnie Farmer
Gus the Bailiff
Matt Riedy
Sheriff White
Mark Kiely
Mark Blackwell
Jeremy Holm
Redneck
Tamara Hickey
Amy Palmer
Paul-Emile Cendron
Joe Palmer
Ian Nelson
Eric Palmer
Johnny Orlando
Glen (17)
Ras Enoch McCurdie
Mini Mart Clerk
Ian Blackman
Mr. Burke
Daryl Edwards
Judge Carter
Joel Brady
Mr. Williams
Peter Michael McDonald
Juror #3
Lenny Clarke
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Lucien Spelman
Bartender Billy
Timothy John Smith
Both Ways Bobby
Joyce Greenleaf
Mourner
Enn Reitel
Mourner
Mary Hronicek
Courtroom Spectator
Susan Garfield
Flight Attendant
Mark Ricker
Production Design
Rena DeAngelo
Set Decoration
Janusz Kamiński
Director of Photography
Marlene Stewart
Costume Design
Keith Campbell
Stunt Coordinator
David Dobkin
Director
Bruce Berman
Executive Producer
Robert Downey Jr.
Executive Producer
David Dobkin
Producer
Susan Downey
Producer
Thomas Newman
Original Music Composer
Mark Ulano
Production Sound Mixer
Mike Prestwood Smith
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Bill Dubuque
Screenplay
Nick Schenk
Screenplay
David Dobkin
Story
Nick Schenk
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Oct 3, 2014
Mill Valley Film Festival
Oct 10, 2014
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1981 · 11 wins
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