"Judgment" follows the events surrounding the molestation of several young boys by a Catholic priest, including the initial disbelief on the part of the parents, and the desperate attempts of the church establishment to cover up the misdeeds and admit no culpability.
The script pretty much develops the action in the same way you see in many other TV movies of this sort - good story, but few surprises. Fortunately, the film is filled with fine actors. Blythe Danner doesn't quite strike me as a small-town Louisiana woman, but her intensity is welcome, particularly her anger at her husband's initial unwillingness to confront the Church leaders.
David Strathairn does a wonderful job (no surprise) as the pedophile priest, a man totally in denial about the harm he has done and his own emotional sickness. He has a brief, but telling scene near the end with the Monsignor (played by the reliably oily Bob Gunton) where he defends his behavior as giving the kids "all of his and God's love" and an antidote to parents who probably beat and abuse their kids. Clearly his general accusation does not apply to the families in the film.
Many people are offended by any kind of sympathetic portrayal of a child molestor, which is easy to understand. But I give "Judgment" credit for going beyond the one-dimensional, and giving us a glimpse of a tortured soul behind the horrible behavior.
The script pretty much develops the action in the same way you see in many other TV movies of this sort - good story, but few surprises. Fortunately, the film is filled with fine actors. Blythe Danner doesn't quite strike me as a small-town Louisiana woman, but her intensity is welcome, particularly her anger at her husband's initial unwillingness to confront the Church leaders.
David Strathairn does a wonderful job (no surprise) as the pedophile priest, a man totally in denial about the harm he has done and his own emotional sickness. He has a brief, but telling scene near the end with the Monsignor (played by the reliably oily Bob Gunton) where he defends his behavior as giving the kids "all of his and God's love" and an antidote to parents who probably beat and abuse their kids. Clearly his general accusation does not apply to the families in the film.
Many people are offended by any kind of sympathetic portrayal of a child molestor, which is easy to understand. But I give "Judgment" credit for going beyond the one-dimensional, and giving us a glimpse of a tortured soul behind the horrible behavior.