The Judge: Robert Downey Jr. Drops Iron for Vulnerability in New Trailer

Warner Bros. has released a powerful, and emotional new trailer for prodigal son/crime drama The Judge, and I have to say, I’m very impressed with the caliber of the acting… And that’s just based on the trailer alone. Robert Downey Jr. has made a huge name for himself as Tony Stark in Marvel’s ultra profitable, and highly successful Iron Man franchise, in addition to other comedies (Tropic Thunder), but he’s capable of so much more (think his role as lecherous doctor in Restoration).  In the second official  trailer for the film, Downey returns to his Indiana town to defend his father–accused of murdering a former perp–but also to, inadvertently hash his issues out with his father.   In one scene in the trailer, Downey walks in on his normally tough as nails dad, sitting on his bed, looking frail and bawling his eyes out.  No lie, I almost started to crying.  See for yourself:

I get the feeling that Downey’s channeling something deeper and a lot more personal (and real) for this performance.

Synopsis:
In “The Judge,” Downey stars as big city lawyer Hank Palmer, who returns to his childhood home where his estranged father, the town’s judge (Duvall), is suspected of murder. He sets out to discover the truth and along the way reconnects with the family he walked away from years before.

The film also features a stellar supporting cast, including Vincent D’Onofrio (TV’s “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”), Jeremy Strong (“Zero Dark Thirty,” “Lincoln”), Dax Shepard (TV’s “Parenthood”), Leighton Meester (TV’s “Gossip Girl”), Ken Howard (“J. Edgar,” “Michael Clayton”), Emma Tremblay (“Elysium”), Balthazar Getty (TV’s “Brothers & Sisters”), David Krumholtz (“This Is the End”), Sarah Lancaster (TV’s “Chuck”), Grace Zabriskie (TV’s “Big Love”) and Denis O’Hare (TV’s “True Blood”).
“The Judge” is being produced by Susan Downey (the “Sherlock Holmes” films), David Dobkin, and David Gambino (“The Brave One”), with Herbert W. Gains, Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Kleeman and Bruce Berman serving as executive producers. The screenplay is by Nick Schenk (“Gran Torino”) and Bill Dubuque, story by Dobkin & Schenk.