Close Menu
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Warframe

    Biggest ‘Warframe’ Announcements From PAX East 2025

    05/13/2025
    The First Descendant Season 3: Breakthrough keyart

    ‘The First Descendant’ Season 3 Looks Like A Gamechanger

    05/11/2025
    Mafia: The Old Country promotional still

    Everything We Know About ‘Mafia: The Old Country’

    05/08/2025
    Sunderfolk Phone Players

    10 ‘Sunderfolk’ Tips To Help You And Your Party Thrive

    05/02/2025
    Bob in Thunderbolts But Why Tho

    ‘Thunderbolts*’ Visualizes Depression As Only A Superhero Movie Can

    05/02/2025
  • Star Wars
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Blood of Zeus
  • MCU
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » REVIEW: ‘Palmer’ is a Heartfelt Look at Found Family

REVIEW: ‘Palmer’ is a Heartfelt Look at Found Family

Kate SánchezBy Kate Sánchez01/28/20214 Mins ReadUpdated:01/28/2021
Use this to resize images 2021 01 28T000255.609
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Use this to resize images 2021 01 28T000255.609

Blood doesn’t make your family. That’s a concept that I carry with me throughout my life and most certainly when I watch films. The Apple Original film Palmer, written by Cheryl Guerriero and directed by Fisher Stevens, offers up a wholesome and emotional look at found family and the bonds that form when you least expect it.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

In the film, Eddie Palmer (Justin Timberlake) is a former high school football star who went from beloved athlete and hometown hero to convicted felon. The film begins at the end of Palmer’s 12-year sentence in a state penitentiary. He returns home to Louisiana, where he moves back in with Vivian (June Squibb), the grandmother who raised him. A shell of a person, Palmer moves through life with the reminders of his glory days and a small-town community that refuses to believe he can be anyone good.

But, things become more complicated when Vivian’s hard-living neighbor Shelly (Juno Temple) disappears on a prolonged bender, leaving her 7-year-old son Sam (Ryder Allen) in Palmer’s reluctant care. In time, Palmer is drawn into a more hopeful world as he forges a connection with Sam through their shared experience of being made to feel different by those around them.

Truth be told, the film is a paint-by-numbers, feel-good story. You can see the ending and plot points coming before they do, and yet, it all works. The formulaic nature of Palmer is something that is embraced. The film works because of its leads and the emotional bond that Palmer and Sam share on-screen. Palmer’s transition from a dejected and quiet man who is just looking to making it through parole to a protective father-figure is stunningly executed. As our lead, Timberlake—even with a less than stellar southern twang—brings an emotionally hardened character who we get to see become vulnerable as his relationship with Sam deepens.

Palmer

The star of the film, however, is Allen as Sam. Sam is a joyous and precocious child. He speaks his mind. He embraces who he is. And he apologizes for none of it. The beauty of childhood is that you can embrace who you are; the struggle is whether the world around you does. Sam is in love with princesses and unicorns and uses Vivian’s make-up to be closer to her. As such, he’s the target of bullying from other children and of abuse by adults. But what I appreciate about the way this film tackles this issue of masculinity and identity is that Palmer, while unsure of what he should do in the beginning, never shames or tries to change Sam.

Sure, there are a couple of moments where Palmer doesn’t understand, and he has to break down his own ideas of gender instilled in him by his small, southern town. But never once does he take this out on Sam. Instead, in those moments, Palmer explains to Sam that the world could hurt him and allows Sam to make the choice. This means that while Palmer is reluctant to buy Sam a princess costume, he does it when Sam shows that it’s truly what will make him happy. Sam comes first, always.

Palmer is more changed by Sam than he changes his surrogate son. He learns how to be a parent, how to love, and ultimately how to support his child in a way that will help him grow, not shrink. It’s a loving look at acceptance and love that we don’t often get. But the reason this is so important is that too often when we see stories in small southern towns about confronting gender stereotypes and expectations, it’s done so through the lens of trauma for the character breaking them. While Sam is not untouched by traumatic events, the center of the story is not that. It is instead a look at the love that can form around you and protect you, even if you’re not connected to the person by blood.

Overall, the film isn’t something that is revolutionary or breathtaking, but it is wholesome. It’s a story about fatherhood, love, and acceptance. It’s a film about nurturing those you love instead of changing them. And finally, it’s a narrative that shows healing instead of pain. While Palmer isn’t perfect, it is just what I needed to watch right now.

Palmer is streaming exclusively on Apple TV+ on January 29, 2021.

Palmer
  • 8/10
    Rating - 8/10
8/10

TL;DR

Overall, the film isn’t something that is revolutionary or breathtaking but it is wholesome. It’s a story about fatherhood, love, and acceptance. It’s a film about nurturing those you love instead of changing them. And finally, it’s a narrative that looks show healing instead of pain. While Palmer isn’t perfect, it is just what I needed to watch right now.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘Penguin Bloom’ is All About the Journey
Next Article REVIEW: ‘Finding ‘Ohana’ is a Heartfelt Treasure Hunt
Kate Sánchez
  • Website
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram

Kate Sánchez is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of But Why Tho? A Geek Community. There, she coordinates film, television, anime, and manga coverage. Kate is also a freelance journalist writing features on video games, anime, and film. Her focus as a critic is championing animation and international films and television series for inclusion in awards cycles. Find her on Bluesky @ohmymithrandir.bsky.social

Related Posts

Bring Her Back
9.0

REVIEW: ‘Bring Her Back’ Brilliantly Shows The Horrors Of Possessive Motherhood

05/16/2025
Still from Final Destination: Bloodlines
8.0

REVIEW: ‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’ Is A Franchise Highlight

05/15/2025
Bet (2025)
6.5

REVIEW: ‘Bet’ Is a Bold and Risky Live-Action Adaption

05/15/2025
Lee Hye-young in The Old Woman With The Knife
8.0

REVIEW: ‘The Old Woman With The Knife’ Cuts Deep

05/13/2025
Vince Vaughn in Netflix Original Film Nonnas
8.0

REVIEW: ‘Nonna’s’ Captures The Importance Of Feeding Grief

05/12/2025
Josh Hartnett in Fight or Flight movie promotional still
9.5

REVIEW: ‘Fight or Flight’ Is The Single-Location Actioner You Need

05/06/2025
TRENDING POSTS
Cho Bo-ah and Lee Jae-wook in Dear Hongrang
8.0
TV

REVIEW: ‘Dear Hongrang’ Weaves A Tangled Web

By Sarah Musnicky05/16/2025Updated:05/16/2025

With its foundation set in mystery and intrigue, it’s no surprise that Dear Hongrang (Tangeum) is a complicated viewing experience.

Murderbot Season 1 keyart from Apple TV Plus
9.0
TV

REVIEW: ‘Murderbot’ Continues Apple TV+’s Sci-Fi Winning Streak

By Kate Sánchez05/12/2025Updated:05/13/2025

Humor, action, and the weirdness of science fiction keep Apple TV+’s Murderbot hitting every single episode.

Bet (2025)
6.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘Bet’ Is a Bold and Risky Live-Action Adaption

By LaNeysha Campbell05/15/2025Updated:05/15/2025

‘Bet’ (2025) brings the high-stakes world of ‘Kakegurui’ to life (again), an American live-action adaptation of Homura Kawamoto’s manga series.

Marie Bach Hansen in Secrets We Keep
6.5
TV

REVIEW: ‘Secrets We Keep’ Will Give You Whiplash

By Sarah Musnicky05/15/2025

Secrets We Keep is a decent binge-watch. However, it needed to take a beat to let the suspense grow and be savored properly.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here