The most expressive he gets is when he goes into rage mode, typically when someone hurts someone he cares about, and in those moments there is a great deal of fire in Timberlake’s turn. Beyond those brief moments, however, you don’t even get the full sense that it’s boiling below the surface, and while the movie has the opportunity to explore his anger, it never actually acts on it – instead throwing in drama like the news that Vivian’s will states that her house will be sold to the church (something that is never addressed as a conflict after it’s introduced). You might think that the bland, single-name title is an indication that Palmer is a character study, but it’s a film that is far more invested in its weak narrative.
