CIRCUMSTANCES SOMETIMES BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER AGAIN: Judge Robert Palmer (Robert Duvall, right) is being defended by his estranged son Hank (Robert Downey, Jr.), who is a successful criminal defense attorney in Chicago. The judge has been arrested for allegedly being involved in a hit and run killing and Hank, who left home several years ago after managing to alienate himself from his father and brother, agrees to defend his father. (© 2014 – Warner Bros. Pictures/Village Roadshow Pictures)

Hank Palmer (Robert Downey, Jr.) is a successful criminal defense attorney with a good reason to hide his humble roots. It seems he was a rebellious child who frequently landed in trouble with the law while growing up in Carlinville, Indiana.

His juvenile delinquency alienated him from his father, Joseph (Robert Duvall), who happened to be the town’s only judge. In addition, Hank managed to permanently estrange himself from his older brother, Glen (Vincent D’Onofrio). Unfortunately, their other sibling, Dale (Jeremy Palmer), was mentally handicapped, As a result, Hank hadn’t been back home in ages until he received word that his mother (Catherine Cummings) had died.

He had planned to make a perfunctory appearance at the funeral and quickly return to Chicago where he had his hands full. In addition to his busy law practice, he was involved in a custody battle with his estranged wife (Sarah Lancaster) over their young daughter (Emma Tremblay). However, everything changed for Hank when his father, Judge Palmer, was arrested in the hit-and-run killing of a convict (Mark Kiely) whom he had publicly castigated in court before releasing him from police custody.

This shocking development forces Hank to represent his father, and simultaneously allows him to mend a few fences at home. In addition, Hank seduces a woman he meets in a bar (Leighton Meester), who turns out to be the daughter of his high school sweetheart (Vera Farmiga), and who might be his own love child.

Thus unfolds The Judge, a drama which is half whodunit, half soap opera that pulls a rabbit out of the hat every five minutes or so. Thanks to Robert Duvall, who plays the Palmer family patriarch with a sobering, stone cold gravitas, the film remains rather well grounded.

Also, Robert Downey, Jr. and Billy Bob Thornton turn in inspired performances as the opposing attorneys matching wits in a classic courtroom showdown. Excellent (***½). Rated R for profanity and sexual references. Running time: 141 minutes. Distributor: Warner Brothers.