Apple TV+ once again delivers in quality far above quantity, affording Justin Timberlake easily the best work of his limited career, in a worthy small-scale tale of redemption.
Timberlake's film history is hardly packed with hidden gems, let alone masterpieces, occasionally dipping his toe into acting - which he seems clearly very naturally attuned to - across myriad genres, with seldom truly noteworthy results. That said, he's done some halfway decent movies and, beyond the fact that he's often overshadowed by the more prominent players in the cast, he's been capable of bringing a few decent roles to life, with In Time something of a guilty pleasure and Trouble with the Curve an example of him being utterly overshadowed by the likes of Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams, but - when you think about it - actually holding his own quite well opposite them. Palmer offers Timberlake the best material of his career and he utterly embraces it, revelling in the character study afforded by this small town drama which manages to elicit a surprising number of emotional high points despite ostensibly treading on very familiar territory.
This small town drama manages to elicit a surprising number of emotional high points despite ostensibly treading on very familiar territory
Palmer has just finished a 12 year stint in prison, and returning to his small town is tough, finding distrust across the board - from the local supermarket where they're all of a sudden 'not hiring' when they find out he's on parole, to even his own grandmother, whose miscounting of her change leads her to immediately think he's taking money from her. When the increasingly volatile young mum from the trailer next door leaves her young son in the care of Palmer's nan, the two spark up an unlikely friendship, with Palmer finally, maybe, finding some purpose in life.
Palmer dropped on Apple TV Plus with about as much promotion as all of their streaming endeavours, namely nothing. If you want to hear about a brand new spy thriller series like Tehran, or a new comedy like Ted Lasso, or basically anything but their original flagship shows, your only chance is if it gets a review - or if you happen to be on the Apple home page around the day of release. It's a shame, really, as Apple is the antithesis of Netflix - you don't have to go trawling for gems, you just have to be patient until they release another bit of new content, safe in the knowledge that whatever it is, it will likely be worth a watch.
Offering seemingly very little different, Palmer distinguishes itself in two aspects, one of which is perhaps not all that unusual for the genre: the casting of an unlikely star in the lead who delivers a surprisingly strong performance, and the introduction of some very contemporary gender themes in a totally organic way. Timberlake is utterly convincing as the worn-down ex-convict who regrets everything, and just wants a chance to get his life back, but is largely resigned to the fact that almost nobody will give it to him. He's also exceptional opposite equally impressive young star Ryder Allen, who plays the abandoned son, Sam, that Palmer eventually takes under his wing. Sam has had a horrific upbringing, but is still a desperately hopeful and bubbly young boy, who simply can't understand why he shouldn't have tea parties with his friends, play with dolls and dress up as a princess for the fancy dress party. And Palmer, refreshingly, doesn't take more than a heartbeat to embrace Sam for who he is, but has enough of his own torture in childhood to know what the other kids are going to do to him. It's excellently developed and depicted, and perfectly integrated into the story, effortlessly adding a very contemporary theme into a feature that doesn't ruin any of its worthy messages by attempting to slap you around the face with them in a contrived fashion.
Apple is the antithesis of Netflix - you don't have to go trawling for gems, you just have to be patient until they release another bit of new content, safe in the knowledge that whatever it is, it will likely be worth a watch
The scale and scope of Palmer may not be huge, but it has more than enough room to breathe life into the narratives of these lost souls, and despite the predictability of entries into this genre, it still manages to hit you hard in several instances where you simply don't know whether they are going to escape what has happened. Parole violations, custody battles, and demons from the past - they're the cliches the genre is founded upon, and Palmer doesn't skirt them, instead rolling with the flow and often eliciting a surprising amount of tension as the story evolves, mostly generated from the fact you genuinely care about these characters. It's a credit to Timberlake - and the young Allen - and well worth checking out.
Palmer is available on Apple TV+ from 29th January 2021.
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