JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE ACTS OUT
Oscar Chatter For AppleTV+'s Palmer
In the upcoming drama Palmer, former high school football star Eddie Palmer (Justin Timberlake) returns to his small hometown to put his life back together. He has served 12 years in prison for an attempted robbery that left one man beaten unconscious. He moves in with his elderly grandmother, Vivian (June Squibb), and much to his surprise, Vivian does not live alone these days. She spends most of her time caring for Sam (Ryder Allen), the gender non-conforming pre-teen son of her drug addict neighbor, Shelly (Juno Temple). Palmer is not happy about a child in the house, but as long as Vivian is there to take care of Sam, he figures it’s all fine.
Of course, after Vivian dies and Shelly runs off to who knows where on another drug binge, Palmer finds himself solely responsible for the young child until Shelly can be found. As Palmer spends more time with Sam, the two begin to develop a father-son bond, and even when Shelly does return, Palmer realizes that he is the person best equipped to take care of Sam, and he proceeds to fight to adopt him. It is important to note, that while at first confused by Sam, Palmer is pretty quick to accept Sam’s gender presentation, and takes it upon himself to make sure that no one (including other parents) makes fun of, or belittles Sam. Along the way, Palmer develops a relationship with Sam’s teacher Maggie Hayes (Alisha Wainwright), though his impulsive behavior and quick reactions to certain problems (even if justified) serve to throw a wrench in their relationship.
Fisher Stevens directed Palmer from a script written by Cheryl Guerriero. In July 2020, Apple TV+ acquired the film’s distribution rights. The film drops on the streaming platform on January 29, 2021.
