The opening of “Palmer” feels very familiar, because this is the kind of setup we’ve seen many times before.
The camera skims over the water before picking up star Justin Timberlake’s face, looking a bit rough and haggard, pensively staring out the window of a bus that drops him off at a modest home, knapsack in hand. It’s just this side of a Folgers ad, but stick with it. Within five minutes, we know that Eddie Palmer (Timberlake) is a former football star just out of prison, early. Within 25 minutes, he’s become the primary caretaker of a precocious young neighbor boy, Sam (Ryder Allen), who prefers princesses, tea parties and makeovers to “typical” boy stuff.
âPalmerâ Review: A Crisis of Masculinity
Justin Timberlake stars as an ex-convict who interrogates his gender biases after he comes to care for a young boy in this prosaic melodrama.
Justin Timberlake and Ryder Allen in “Palmer.”Credit.Apple Original Films
By Natalia Winkelman
When you purchase a ticket for an independently reviewed film through our site, we earn an affiliate commission.
Like a bad egg set to boil, a rugged ex-convict softens and then cracks in the pallid drama âPalmer.â The film, streaming on Apple TV+, opens with its stoic protagonist returning home to rural Louisiana after serving a 12-year prison sentence. Palmer (Justin Timberlake) hits the bar and carouses with buddies, but his townie itinerary changes when he finds himself saddled with caring for Sam (Ryder Allen), the cherubic child of a neglectful neighbor.
ABC News
Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest?
OffOn
Is sappy sentiment really a bad thing for a movie to deliver?
• 5 min read
Justin Timberlake stars in a scene from the 2021 film, Palmer.
Is sappy sentiment really a bad thing for a movie to deliver, especially in a pandemic? Your answer will gauge your reaction to Palmer, a shameless tearjerker with just enough surprises up its sleeve to bring out your forgiving nature. At least it did mine. Now streaming on Apple TV+, Palmer with Justin Timberlake providing the marquee value offers a familiarity that stops far short of breeding contempt.