Movie Review: 'Palmer' Starring Justin Timberlake

In the new movie, Palmer, Justin Timberlake plays a former High School Football star quarterback who has just been released from prison. Moving back to his hometown of Sylvain, Louisiana, Palmer, as he’s known to friends, just wants to settle down and go unnoticed. He wants to get a job, have a few beers with friends and stay out of trouble. Naturally, there would not be much of a movie if that happened.

Instead, Palmer is thrust into the life of a little boy, a neighbor named Sam (Ryder Allen). Living with his grandmother, a wonderful June Squibb, Palmer one day finds little Sam in his home. Sam’s mother, played by Juno Temple, has run off with her good for nothing boyfriend and left Sam in the care of Grandma and by extension, Palmer. The plot of Palmer kicks in when grandma passes away and Palmer is suddenly the caretaker of a seven year old stranger.

Sam is also dealing with gender issues as he prefers dolls and princesses to boys toys and typical gender normative entertainment. Palmer, not being especially 'Woke' after 12 years in prison is at a loss for how to deal with Sam’s forceful personality other than to tolerate him and eventually develop an understanding for the boy. That’s the heart of Palmer, a troubled man finding his empathy and compassion as he cares for someone who needs him.

Naturally, Sam’s mom will return and complicate things eventually but Palmer has other hurdles to overcome. His past as a man once convicted of attempted murder makes finding work very difficult. Then there is being in the hometown where he was once a venerated sports hero and is now a former convict that people both pity and fear. Ghosts of Palmer’s past linger in the forms of old friends Daryl (Stephen Louis Grush) and Coles (Tommy Boyd).

Now a police officer, Coles was actually with Palmer when he ended up nearly beating a man to death during a foiled break-in attempt and left Palmer to take the rap for everything. Daryl meanwhile, via his drunken antics, never seems to let Palmer forget about having been in prison for 12 years. He’s not needling him about it but he can’t seem to stop from bringing it up or wondering why Palmer is making friends with Coles despite their history. Daryl and Coles both appear to bristle over Palmer's caring for Sam, another source of conflict in this story.

The attention that eventually comes from Palmer becoming Sam’s primary caretaker drives much of the narrative of Palmer and it is very compelling. Justin Timberlake may not be the first actor I would look for as a redneck with a lesson to learn about compassion and empathy but his performance here is very effective. The stops and starts of his attempts at first tolerating Sam and then coming to care about the child as if he were his own are an emotional and complicated journey.

The standout performance however is that of young Ryder Allen who gives beautiful life to young Sam. He’s not confused about who he is or what he enjoys. Palmer does well to present a child who doesn’t understand or care for what your conception of gender stereotypes are. The performance demonstrates the purity of childlike thinking and how our society tries to force people into boxes and roles often at the expense of those who don’t conform.

It’s a good reminder that conformity and gender norms are a creation of people and not something we are born with. We’ve made the decision that girls like dolls and pink and boys like blue and enjoy more physical pursuits. It’s based on how a majority of people feel but it’s often enforced in a fashion that is harmful to those who don’t fit into the boxes that our society has created. Palmer reminds us that just because a lot of people believe people are only one way based on their gender that doesn’t speak for everyone.

Palmer has a warmth and humanity that reminded me of an even more challenging and sadly overlooked movie from 2018 called Just Charlie. That film was about a boy just becoming a teenager who finally accepts that he is actually a girl. Just Charlie has more emotional heft to it than Palmer does but both film’s share a depth of compassion and understanding that make them remarkably valuable.

Confronted with children who don’t fit preconceived notions of gender normativity, people find it harder to be cruel but not impossible. Palmer and Just Charlie are stories about how far we’ve come but also stark reminders of how far we still must go toward caring for, protecting, and nurturing the Sam’s and Charlie’s of the world. Just Charlie is the more forward thinking of the two films but Palmer is a good step forward for American movies about compassion and care for our non-binary loved ones.

Palmer will be released on Apple TV on January 29th alongside a limited same-day theatrical release.