Directed By Fisher Stevens

Starring – Justin Timberlake, Ryder Allen, Alisha Wainwright

The Plot – Former high school football star Eddie Palmer (Timberlake) went from hometown hero to convicted felon, earning himself 12 years in a state penitentiary. He returns home to Louisiana, where he moves back in with Vivian (June Squibb), the grandmother who raised him. While trying to keep his head down and rebuild a quiet life for himself, Palmer is haunted by memories of his glory days and the suspicious eyes of his small town community. Things become more complicated when Vivian’s hard-living neighbor Shelly (Juno Temple) disappears on a prolonged bender, leaving her precocious and unique 7-year-old son Sam (Allen), often the target of bullying, in Palmer’s reluctant care. In time, Palmer is drawn into a more hopeful world as he forges a connection with Sam through their shared experience of being made to feel different by those around them. Life improves for Palmer, and a romance develops between him and Sam’s teacher Maggie (Wainwright). An inspiring and unexpected journey unfolds for the three of them, but soon Palmer’s past threatens to tear apart this new life.

Rated R for adult language, some sexual content/nudity and brief violence

Palmer — Official Trailer | Apple TV+ – YouTube

POSITIVES

– Eye-opening performances. “Palmer” is certainly a vehicle for Timberlake, but it’s one that puts his familiar charisma on hold for a deeply dramatic dive that emits the single strongest resonation of his entire film career. Blessed with watering eyes and a building rage from within that harvests a furnace of regret for the character’s past, Justin is able to articulate the more dark and emotionally demanding side of his registry, illustrating the growth for the musician-turned-actor that solidifies him as the double threat that he was always attempting. In addition to Timberlake in the titular role, Juno Temple is equally immersive as a drug-ridden mother figure who lives in a trailer on Palmer’s property. Temple has always been any movie’s biggest secret weapon, and thanks to a series of long-winded, volume elevating diatribes, she’s able to tap into that emotional instability that makes you hate her character, but feel equally appreciative of the kind of range she brings to the picture.

– Warm heart. Like most feel good drama’s, “Palmer” too preaches and earns a series of meaningful concepts and life lessons that audiences can take with them after seeing the film. This is often explored through Palmer himself, as a convict on parole in a town that has since shunned him, but it’s equally conveyed in his miniature on-screen protagonist, whom as a boy embraces what society deems as a girl interests. So the ideal of accepting people for who they are, and appreciating them for their identities is one that is clearly evident in importance throughout the film. This is only one of the many themes scattered throughout, but what I appreciate about this particular one is that it isn’t constantly emitted in the screenplay repetitiously throughout, and is instead only a footnote in the film’s bigger picture, which refuses to be weighed down by temporary melodrama.

– Tonal evolution. In enveloping as much about the titular character as possible, the film’s tone too is also resonant of the attitude his character elicits throughout the progression of the film. For instance, when Palmer first gets out of prison, and finds himself being reintroduced to these pivotal figures in his life, he’s very reserved and quiet in almost cautious demeanor. During this time in the film, the tone is equally stuffy, feel trepidation in terms of which direction its footing will set foot in for the two acts that follow. However, once Palmer begins to get the ball of momentum rolling with a job and an ensuing love interest, we start to see the movie’s atmosphere open up with a light-hearted consistency that brings to light some of the more family elements of the film’s essential conflicts. In this manner, it matures in the same way the optimism for the character becomes self-conscious, and presents an overall much more enjoyable feeling during the film’s second half than we received with initial engagements.

– Meticulous plotting. Despite all of the familiarities of the screenplay, and where we can predictably spot them materializing from other films they stem from, it was the confidence in remaining the course that was part of its charm, remaining firm in not trying to be something it rightfully isn’t. This captures more of the slice of life articulation that other films attempt to capture, but can’t because of the lack of subtlety and melodrama that they simply can’t resist on. This is never “Palmer’s” problem, as the conversations and dialogue attain a naturalistic quality that preserves nuance, and allows the conflicts of the film, as predictable as they may be, to progress believably in the scope of reality. It simultaneously helps Palmer the character to mature throughout his character arc, and attains a level of connection to the audience that is realized through the frailty and wonderment of a child brought along for the ride.

– Small town setting. In placing this film in the heartland of the deep south, it not only gives Timberlake a chance to return to his roots, but also grants the story a lot of unique and particular conflicts that seem to resonate effectively more in this geographic lens than anywhere else. Aside from this being a very intimate surrounding, where everyone feels like they know everything, the limitations in opportunity for the protagonist feel like they weigh heavily in his comeback story. In addition, the lack of empathy in a community this by the book, make it all the less accommodating for someone like Sam, who is discovering himself in ways that a society this close-minded condemns at every opportunity. That’s not a deconstruction of the south, just this particular fictional town that “Palmer” revolves around, which often makes it feel like the primary antagonist within this film.

NEGATIVES

– Underwhelming direction. As an actor-turned-director whose evolution hasn’t been all the more rewarding for me, Stevens again lacks the kind of personality behind the lens that challenges this film’s visuals in ways that dive deep below surface level. Unfortunately, much of the compositions and schemes to the film left me feeling uninspired for a movie conveying this level of intimacy and emotion. Likewise, the color pallet feels every bit as dull and lifeless as it does routine for a movie of this production level. Being that this is an Apple TV product, I won’t fault this film too much for this, but its aesthetic punch feels severely lacking, and never gave me the kind of emphasis needed in presentation to keep me continuously hooked on a technical level. I’d personally like to see Fisher take more risks in his next project. Without them, he will monotonously underscore his talents, which are now flooding into the movie’s compromising capacity.

– Stuck in place. To say this film is slow is the understatement of the decade. So instead I will say that what dooms “Palmer” from effectively intriguing me is the arduous pacing and overall lack of momentum between scenes, that failed to continuously build on storytelling momentum. It starts with the first act, where we’re introduced to an assembly of characters, and then all of them with the exception of two are removed entirely. From there, the second act feels like it’s hopping between an array of ideas in search of something that sticks, only finding success in the dynamic between Palmer and Sam, which can only serve up so much of the nearly two hour run time. For the final act, we finally see a level of drama materialize, but it’s very predictable and by-the-numbers in its manifestation, and does nothing to break the conventional idea that you get from an easily detectable trailer in the movie’s marketing.

– Redundant score. Adding to the repetition in storytelling, which condenses the scope and capabilities of this movie’s material, is the monotonously straining musical score from composer Tamar-kali, the same audible visionary who penned transfixing score in “Mudbound”, “Shirley”, and “The Lie” to name a few. Her problem here is the score, like the film, is often too repetitive of its own tones and tempo’s, and often overtly influences each scene in a volume and meandering capacity. The compositions themselves lack any level of imagination to break free from or elevate from the heavily expected use of piano, and when splashed in nearly the entirety of every heavily dramatic scene, does start to become a little grating on the senses of what I was experiencing. It’s certainly the first time I can use the term phoned-in for Tamar’s work, and I hope she can find better uses of her talents in future opportunities by spreading the eclectic use of her instrumental hypnosis.

– Avenues unexplored. If the film introduces Palmer as this redemption story of sorts from the very beginning, whose tribulations behind bars are well documented, why would it refuse to explore these avenues in ways that tempt the character back into the hole he came from? Part of this can easily be explained with him learning his lesson from being incarcerated, but that excuse undercuts the tension and investment to a redemption story arc, rendering it virtually pointless to begin with. For my money, I wish the script would’ve accentuated the lessening grip on his anger control, which is the character’s most noticeable flaw. There’s certainly no shortage of opportunities for this to arise, most noticeably in the continued bullying of Sam by the townspeople, as well as Sam’s debaucherous parents, who seem to arrive only to stir the pot. Palmer is given very little to do in a film he is the titular character for, and it only stands as a testament to what Timberlake was able to accomplish within the role.

My Grade: 5/10 or D+