"Palmer" makes good on redemption formula with honesty and sensitivity

Palmer (2021)


At face value, “Palmer” is like Justin Timberlake’s “The Way Back,” just cut back a little on the Pabst Blue Ribbon and add an adorable latchkey kid for redemption. Character actor-turned-director Fisher Stevens (2012’s “Stand Up Guys”) directs a ruggedly stoic Timberlake to find more than enough honest notes with 9-year-old newcomer Ryder Allen in a script by Cheryl Guerriero. This southern-fried feel-goodery sounds painfully mawkish in theory—“Family is who you make it” would be the tagline—but in practice where it actually counts, "Palmer" is solidly affecting with a careful balance of frankness and sensitivity. 


The “Palmer” of the film is Eddie Palmer (Timberlake), a former football quarterback who left Louisiana State University for being charged with attempted murder. After twelve years of his life being spent in prison and now out on parole, Palmer hops on a bus back home to live with his grandmother, Vivian (June Squibb), and tries putting together some semblance of a life. Next door is a trailer occupied by strung-out mother Shelly (Juno Temple), her mullet-headed drunk of an abusive boyfriend (Dean Winters), and Shelly’s young son Sam (Ryder Allen). When Shelly runs off for a bit longer than usual, Vivian takes Sam under her wing. Sam is unapologetically himself with a love for playing with dolls, having tea parties, and watching a magical princess show. As Palmer gains employment as a janitor as Sam's elementary school, he loses the one person he could always turn to in his life. Does Palmer take care of Sam on his own or drop him off at Child Protective Services?


Yes, “Palmer” is one of those “ex-convict becomes better person with a child around” stories, but the proof is in the pudding. As Palmer, Justin Timberlake gets to rough up his image again after turns in “Alpha Dog,” “Black Snake Moan,” and “Southland Tales,” but in a way that makes it easy to take him seriously as a hardscrabble character. Timberlake smoothly navigates Palmer's arc from a broken, short-fused man who stress-smokes and drinks day and night before eventually coming around the other side as a tolerant man trying to keep his drinking and volatility in check. He and June Squibb do make us feel their long history, and Squibb can make a touching impact even with her screen-time limited to barely the first half. When it does come time for Palmer to become a parental figure to Sam, it's never a complete about-face into sainthood. Palmer's edges still exist, but the big and little ways in which he helps Sam, like protecting him from bullies or showing him how to pack a lunch that doesn't consist of only cookies, are alternately firm and tender. Sam, himself, is one of those precocious movie moppets, but he’s “different,” a label-free breath of fresh air in a heteronormative world as played by the spirited, pure-hearted Ryder Allen. Also, even when playing this same type of character from film to film and having a tendency to go big, Juno Temple still, as she usually does, finds an empathy in Shelly's desperation and regrets of never getting clean for her child. 


“Palmer” is a paint-by-numbers second-chances drama that works regardless. Even if it never really colors outside the lines, director Fisher Stevens is judiciously calculated in telling a narrative of no surprises that actually surprises cumulatively for not ringing false. Fisher steers clear of artificial sweetener and mostly never looks down at any of his characters. The formula also wouldn’t be without Palmer getting a cheerleader and love interest with Sam’s teacher Miss Maggie (Alisha Wainwright), but even that subplot feels less contrived somehow between Timberlake and Wainwright’s authentic interactions. The good intentions are so true and the reminder of being a tolerant, decent human never has an expiration date as long as it’s not hammered home with gooey sentiment. If one still feels their cynical side rearing its head while watching it, “Palmer” sneaks up and gently wins you over.

Grade: B -


Apple TV+ released “Palmer” (111 min.) to stream on January 29, 2021.

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