JURY’S OUT ON THIS TALE OF REDEMPTION
AFTER 12 years behind bars in a state penitentiary for attempted murder, Eddie Palmer (Justin Timberlake) returns home to Sylvain, New Orleans, to stay with his loving grandmother Vivian (June Squibb).
Every two weeks, the former high school football star checks in with a parole officer and takes a drugs test.
When neighbour Shelly (Juno Temple), who lives in a trailer on Vivian’s land, disappears on one of her drug-fuelled benders, she leaves behind her precocious seven-year-old son Sam (Ryder Allen).
The boy is bullied mercilessly at school for playing with dolls and liking the same Princess Penelope cartoon series as his female best friend.
reluctant become Eddie is Sam’s to initially guardian (“He ain’t my problem!”) but the youngster’s untainted sweetness and innocence are a balm to Eddie’s tortured soul.
Filmed on location in Louisiana, Palmer is a contemplative, life-affirming drama that traces a familiar path to redemption for a quietly spoken man who has served his time.
Timberlake conveys his ex-con’s inner turmoil with lowered eyes and hunched shoulders rather than words, catalysing a winning screen chemistry with exuberant young co-star Allen, who has a rare talent for breaking hearts. Screenwriter Cheryl Guerriero hints at the ugliness and rage bubbling beneath the surface of Sylvain’s God-fearing community, where the two competing religions are the church and football. However, she shies away from too much grit when heartwarming neat resolutions are an easier sell, including a gently simmering romance between Eddie and Sam’s teacher Maggie (Alisha Wainwright).
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