Review: Palmer

 

Hello, Everybody! Today I'm reviewing Palmer, starring the man from Tennessee, Justin Timberlake! In addition to be a very talented singer-songwriter, he's got pretty good acting chops. It's pretty rare that music artists can juggle both a singing and an acting career, I mean Harry Styles is already a movie star after his minor role in Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk and Donald Glover/Childish Gambino has been rapping and acting for years, the difference being that he broke out in the cult tv show, Community and then started a music career.

Anyway, let's get into Palmer, shall we? Keep in mind that this is a *SPOILER* review so watch the movie before you read my review.

Palmer's starring Justin Timberlake, Ryder Allen, Alisha Wainwright, Juno Temple, Jesse C. Boyd, J.D. Evermore, Stephen Louis Grush, and June Squibb and is written by Cheryl Guerriero and directed by Fisher Stevens.(By the way, if you don't know who Fisher Stevens is, he was in that episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia where he played the bar critic.)

In this Apple original drama film, JT plays Eddie Palmer, a man who is just released from prison after being convicted for attempted murder, robbery and other things and goes back to his hometown in Georgia and stays with his Grandma, Vivian. While there he looks for work and eventually gets a job as a janitor. Living across Vivian's home is Sam, a young boy living with his neglectful and drug-addicted mother, Shelly. Sam stays in the house whenever his mom disappears. However, when Vivian dies in her sleep and Shelly disappears, Palmer looks after the young boy and overtime, they have a genuine father-son bond. Now, this film isn't just about Palmer, it's all about Sam and his obsession with princesses and fairies, which is something that Palmer doesn't understand first. It becomes a concern when Sam is being picked on at school and Palmer takes on bullies with sorts of shapes and sizes. It does however lead to some consequences which include spending the night at a police precinct.

But beneath those edges, is a very sweet and gentle drama with a great JT performance, probably the best role in Justin's career and I also hope to see what newcomer Ryder Allen will do next. The bond between Palmer and Sam is what keeps the movie with a familiar story going with a dose of the exploration of learning to accept the masculine ideals outside of gender binaries. 

It's not a perfect movie, but what makes "Palmer" work is the father-son bond.

I'll give it an 8/10

Alright, guys. Be sure to comment below your thoughts on "Palmer."