By Rick Bentley

The Fresno Bee

(MCT)

LOS ANGELES—David Dobkin looks at film directing as a type of dance: It’s his job to lead his actors while still giving them room to express themselves. In the case of his latest film “The Judge,” that meant leading two veteran actors—“ Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall—through a series of deeply emotional steps.

“The magic of actors and directors working together is when we are listening to each other. We are suggesting ideas to each other and having a good dialogue. You have to be willing to have more than one take so everyone can try different things on set,” Dobkin says. “Casting is half of the job. If you do it right, then once you start filming you have to be a good listener and be delicate about offering suggestions.”

That was his process in filming “The Judge,” a courtroom/family drama about a small town judge (Duvall) accused of a serious crime. His estranged son (Downey) must get past his personal problems to provide his father a proper defense.

Along with Downey and Duvall, the cast also includes Vera Farmiga, Vincent D’Onofrio, Dax Shepard and Jeremy Strong.

The director got everything he wanted and more from his actors.

“Duvall came in and delivered what I was hoping for. You have certain intentions and visions of what is going to happen. These guys were brilliant and made the story come alive,” Dobkin says.

Downey credits his acting partners with helping him find the right moves. He says Duvall’s work gave his character an emotional mountain to climb that was so high, his soul was at stake.

After all of his success in comic book movies, it’s not surprising Downey talks about the importance of having a first-rate villain. In this case, it’s the work by Billy Bob Thornton as the prosecuting attorney that gave his character the a direction.

Dobkin knew when he first met Downey in 2006 that he wanted to work with him because of his energy, wit and intelligence. He knew if he could find the right project to show off all of Downey’s skills, then the project would be special.

He found it in “The Judge.” Downey knew it was the right script for him because of the emotional touchstones along the way. Audience members who have seen the film often tell Downey how much they can relate to the story.

“Sometimes, when an actor comes to make a smaller movie, they want to prove they can act. And, they often play everything too big,” Dobkin says. “Downey was so classy and smart about his choices. He is just playing the scene.”

Because the film had so much potential, Downey recalls how he could feel his heart pounding in his chest on the first day of filming,

“That was because I had such high hopes for the film turning out as great as the script,” Downey says.

Part of what appealed to Downey was his character having to face so many emotional highs and lows. That included a romantic tango with Farmiga’s character, Samantha.

Dobkin calls Farmiga’s character “the heart” of the story. Farmiga likes the balance she brings to the film.

“She has a serenity to her spirit. Her heart is elastic,” Farmiga says. “There’s this wonderful romantic investigation of herself but I also saw her as a guide that ushers this prodigal son on his journey of reconciliation.”

As with any dance, some partners don’t get as much time on the floor as the others. Thornton sarcastically says he had “11 scenes in the movie and now I only have three left.”

He’s exaggerating, but even if he had only three scenes, Thornton would have been happy just to be invited to this dance. He and Duvall—who calls Thornton the “hillbilly Orson Welles”—have been friends for years.

“It’s always great working with Bobby because he’s been my friend and mentor for many, many years,” Thornton says, “One of the big things for an actor to get over is if you know somebody very well. You have to forget who that person is. I knew I was going to have to get in his face. It was a real challenge just to forget who was sitting there.”

Duvall understood because the scene was just part of the dance of making “The Judge.”

———

©2014 The Fresno Bee (Fresno, Calif.)

Visit The Fresno Bee (Fresno, Calif.) at www.fresnobee.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services