Trailer Link

Release Date:

October 10, 2014

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “Big city lawyer Hank Palmer returns to his childhood home where his father, the town’s judge, is suspected of murder. Hank sets out to discover the truth and, along the way, reconnects with his estranged family.”

Poster: C / B-

Review: I’ll give the design credit for being atypical. However, it’s so overly simplified that it doesn’t seem to have any urgency or forward momentum. If the film’s entirely contemplative, then perhaps the design would fit, but the trailer doesn’t quite suggest that it is.

(#2) Positioning Robert Duvall in a visually superior position carefully asserts the film’s power dynamic in a subtle, but identifiable way. It’s not otherwise very interesting, but it at least attempts creativity.

Trailer: C / C+

Review: A straight-forward courtroom drama built into a family drama should appeal to older audiences just, but the overall thrust of the film seems to have an age limitation as most younger audiences aren’t likely to flock to the film.

(#2) Introducing the opposition lawyer and attempting to make this seem more like a murder mystery that features family drama rather than a family drama with a loose mystery at its core may help with audiences. It still looks quite dry, which should keep it from becoming much of a hit.

Oscar Prospects:

With the likes of Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall, you can bet there will be Oscar talk. However, the trailer doesn’t give one hope that it will be more than commonplace, but if it exceeds expectations it could be a contender. Outside of acting, though, I doubt it will have too much impact.

Revisions:

(July 20, 2014) Original
(October 5, 2014) New Trailer (#2) / New Poster (#2)