Palmer
Published February 20, 2021
Film info
- Title Palmer
- Director Fisher Stevens
- Year 2021
- Run time 1hr 50m
- Genre Drama
- Tagline Family is who you make it
Former high school football star Eddie Palmer 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, 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 disappears on a prolonged bender, leaving her precocious and unique 7-year-old son Sam, 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.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 3:13 | I really don’t understand rooms that are left the same like that, posters on the wall and everything! |
| 10:10 | How was she going to get to church if he wasn’t there? |
| 11:53 | Yep, that is one cute kid. |
| 14:55 | “Too much TV ain’t good for you.” Outrageous suggestion. |
| 24:21 | That’s right, kid, putting lipstick on is harder than it looks. |
| 30:23 | “Can you imagine? The MOON.” |
| 39:23 | Trying to fake your way through a kid’s tea party is fun. |
| 47:25 | How can he not have got a phone yet? |
| 55:45 | Sandwich making contest sounds good. |
| 56:55 | Justin has one of those super loud claps. |
| 1:02:16 | “What does that tell you?” “That I can be the first.” |
| 1:07:22 | Because they put so much emphasis on football heroes! |
| 1:17:59 | Is the kid not capable of writing a letter himself? |
| 1:24:49 | This film better have a happy ending. |
| 1:31:15 | The system is there for a reason but oof, it sucks. |
| 1:38:54 | Well that was pretty brutal. |
| 1:44:24 | Keys! |
Thoughts
Ah, I loved this film. The trailer had me expecting hard-hitting drama but actually it was a little softer than I’d imagined it was going to be. Certainly to begin with, but I must admit I was crying by the end, so it wasn’t without emotion!
Big brooding bear Justin does his time and tries to make a better life for himself, scooping up an adorable if precocious kid who just wants to live his own style. The challenges they face apart and together make for a fascinating story, and what I liked about it is it wasn’t so much about them growing and becoming better people, but learning how to live in a society that didn’t understand them.
And thankfully it did have a happy ending.
Rating: 5 / 5