Palmer (2021) review: Fatherhood in a unexpected place.

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Source

The pictures in this post were taken directly from the movie by me, the score was taken from my Letterbox Account.

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ENGLISH

After having seen one of my favorite superhero movies in a long time "Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse" I think it is necessary to return to reality and see one or another movie that is not linked to a great franchise or is determined to forge a cinematographic universe that lasts years in development.

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That's how I came across "Palmer", an exclusive Apple TV movie that premiered in 2021, directed by Fisher Stevens and starring Justin Timberlake and a young man named Ryder Allen who (To be honest) quite surprised me with his performance.

The story of "Palmer" centers on an ex-con named Eddie Palmer, who, after being paroled, decides to return to his grandmother's house to look for a job and start his life from scratch.

Eddie is a man clearly tormented by his past, sorry for the crimes he committed and willing to show everyone that his time in jail made him change.

The point is that next to him lives Sam Burdette, a boy who is growing up in a rather dysfunctional home and whose only window to normalcy is when he shares his spare time with Vivián, Palmer's grandmother.

It's quite apparent from the start that Sam is a "different" kid, with behaviors that his peers and friends might label as "girly" leading him to suffer constant abuse at school, home, and basically anywhere he comes near.

I think that anyone who reads this premise will be able to see where the shots are going, in essence, Palmer is a film that seeks to redeem a destroyed man, making him live with a child who, although it does not align with his morality scheme, is going to End up giving meaning to your life.

It's generic, yes, but I like its so "predictable" nature, that instead of focusing on giving us an incredible plot twist or breaking our hearts with a tragic event, it dedicates its entire duration to building a father and son bond between two characters through the ones that are nice to see.

Although logically there is an LGBT theme, I like that Sam's sexual identity is always treated with naturalness and respect, demonstrating those problems that a child like him would face in reality, and trying to subtly suggest how we can counteract those prejudices.

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This is not exactly the thematic focus of the film, I want to be very clear with this, and it is that Palmer seems more interested in exploring fatherhood from an unconventional point of view, where sometimes, we can find support in places where it is not. we hope, something that can nourish both us and those who are caring for us in the first place.

Palmer is not a particularly outstanding film, its structure is generic, the direction has nothing particularly remarkable and it is easy to predict how it will end, but this does not mean that it can't be entertaining and emotional.

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Source

Todas las imágenes en este post fueron sacadas directamente desde la película, el puntaje fue sacado de mi cuenta de Letterbox

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ESPAÑOL

Luego de haber visto una de mis películas de superhéroes favoritas en mucho tiempo "Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse" creo que es necesario volver a la realidad y ver una que otra película que no este vinculada con una gran franquicia o este empeñada en forjar un universo cinematográfico que dure allos en desarollo.

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Así fue como me topé con "Palmer", una película exclusiva de Apple TV que se estrenó en el 2021, dirigida por Fisher Stevens y protagonizada por Justin Timberlake y un joven llamado Ryder Allen que (Siendo honestos) me sorprendió bastante con su performance.

La historia de "Palmer" se centra en un exconvicto llamado Eddie Palmer, quien, luego de quedar en libertad provisional decide volver a la casa de su abuela para buscar un trabajo y empezar su vida desde 0.

Eddie es un hombre claramente atormentado por su pasado, arrepentido de los crímenes que cometió y dispuesto a demostrarle a todos que su paso por la cárcel le hizo cambiar.

La cuestión es que a su lado vive Sam Burdette, un niño que está creciendo en un hogar bastante disfuncional y cuya única ventana a la normalidad se encuentra al compartir sus ratos libres con Vivían, la abuela de Palmer.

Desde el principio es bastante evidente que Sam es un niño "diferente", con conductas que sus compañeros y amigos podrían tachar de "afeminadas" llevándolo a sufrir de abusos constantes en la escuela, su hogar, y básicamente cualquier lugar a dónde se acerque.

Creo que cualquiera que lea está premisa podrá ver por dónde van los tiros, en esencia, Palmer es una película que busca redimir a un hombre destruido, haciéndolo convivir con un niño que, si bien no se alinea con su esquema de moralidad, va a terminar dándole sentido a su vida.

Es genérica, si, pero me agrada está naturaleza tan "predecible", que en vez de enfocarse en darnos un plot twist increíble o romper nuestros corazones con un evento trágico dedica toda su duración a construir un vínculo de padre e hijo entre dos personajes a los que da gusto ver.

Aunque lógicamente hay una temática LGBT, me agrada que la identidad sexual de Sam siempre se trata con naturalidad y respeto, demostrando aquellos problemas que un niño como el enfrentaría en la realidad, y tratando de sugerir sutilmente como podemos contrarrestar esos prejuicios.

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Este no es precisamente el foco temático de la película, quiero ser muy claro con esto, y es que Palmer parece más interesado en explorar la paternidad desde un punto de vista no convencional, en dónde a veces, podemos encontrar apoyo en lugares donde no lo esperamos, algo que puede nurtrirnos tanto a nosotros como a quienes nos están cuidando en primer lugar.

Palmer no es un filme particularmente destacado, su estructura es genérica, la dirección no tiene nada particularmente destacable y es fácil predecir como va a terminar, pero esto no quita que sea entretenida y emotiva.

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Twitter/Instagram/Letterbox: Alxxssss

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5 comments
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It's been a while I have seen Justin Timberlake movie. I have not heard of thr movie. I have to check it out. Though it might be generic, it will be nice to see Justin again. I enjoyed reading your review. Thank you for the recommendation.

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Besides from The Social Network this is the first time that I've seen him acting and it was great, o e of the best aspects of the movie.

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This movie was great and the performance of Justin Timberlake was just amazing 😎😁

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Yes! I just heard about it a couple of days ago, it was really entertaining

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I believe that Timberlake is a pretty fantastic actor and I enjoyed this film a lot more than I thought I was going to.