Humans love to judge. We judge others, we judge art, we judge places, and we judge film. With judgment comes an inevitable sense of power, which is why we judge so often. But what does it mean to be an actual judge, to sit in a courtroom and deliver sentences that can determine someone’s fate?

Emmanuelle Bercot’s potent and compelling French drama Le Tete Haute (“Standing Tall”) invites you to be a juvenile magistrate judge in the French court system through empathizing with the character of actress Catherine Deneuve as she judges, misjudges, and re-judges vehement teenager Malony. Bercot, through a remarkably firm devotion to her main characters, successfully engages the audience by assigning us a role in judging young Malony throughout the film.

Malony, played by impressive newcomer Rod Parodot, is a teenager struggling through the French justice system who was abandoned at age 6 by his drug-addicted, uneducated, and disturbingly immature mother (Sara Forestier). The film follows Judge Florence (Denueve) and court-appointed counselor Yann (Benoit Magimel) as they attempt to give Malony the chance at a decent life not afforded to him by his mother nor his circumstances.

Parodot’s piercing eyes and intense jawline are a perfect match for Malony’s harsh personality and animalistic emotional reactions. Parodot gives a performance reserved for the most seasoned actors with his extensive range of honest responses and expressions that both terrify and intrigue the audience--from throwing tantrums at his counselors with a raw viciousness to delicately consoling his unstable mother with a gentle reservation.

What elevates Bercot’s drama is the incredibly effective job the film does of inviting the audience to empathize with Judge Florence—you judge Malony when she judges him, you deliberate when she deliberates, and you question your own rulings as she does. The innocent, abandoned, cherub face of 6-year old Malony seen at the start of the film is burned in your memory much as it is in the judge’s, driving your actions for the remainder of the movie.

Just as Judge Florence does, the audience secretly roots for Malony when he succeeds in school, jobs, and relationships and is utterly disappointed and frustrated whenever he falls off track. When Malony shows maturity, you as the judge feel a sense of delight and relief; however, you are forever anxious that Malony will erupt into his predictable pattern of outbursts at any moment and cannot be truly relieved until you walk out of the theater, leaving the “courtroom” once and for all.

The score mimics and amplifies this sense of anxiety, with loud and electronic noises accompanying each outburst in the sort of in-your-face manner Malony confronts most situations. In the club and car scenes, intense and frantic camera movements contribute to this always-on-edge anxiety which is perfectly juxtaposed against the calm, quiet, and official nature of the courtroom where the camera remains mostly still.

In empathizing with Judge Florence, we feel disgust and disdain for Malony’s mother. Malony’s unconditional love for the mother that consistently fails him allows us to see a certain maturity and kindness absent from his typical behavior. In a figurative sense Malony is the father and his mother is the child, the roles reversed to highlight Malony’s potential to protect those he cares about. We witness this potential when Malony rescues his brother from the foster home and later when his baby-like mother is seen coddled up on his chest.

Though we find it quite easy to judge Malony’s actions, it becomes much more difficult on the audience and Judge Florence when we are forced to deliver punishments. Malony’s actions and outbursts demand punishment but the audience (and the judge) understands his situation and cannot in good conscience recklessly abandon him.

In regards to the holes in this “case”, there is some trouble in developing the relationship between Tess (the lover) and Malony. Further, more background evidence on the past of Yann, the counselor with whom Malony develops a relationship, could help audiences understand why he so easily identifies with the young man. In a way Bercot’s investment in her characters seems guilty of focusing too much on Malony and not on his environment and the characters surrounding him.

In an overarching sense Standing Tall teaches us that sitting in the judge’s seat is no easy task. The audience is continually burdened by this heavy responsibility throughout the film and feels exhausted by the end, ready to retire much like Denueve’s character. However, our commitment to saving Malony based on Bercot’s meticulous character planning and the actor’s complete deliverance renders the film an imperative, eye-opening watch.

Written by Emmanuelle Bercot & Marcia Romano, Directed by Emmanuelle Bercot, Produced by Francois Kraus & Denis Pineau-Valencienne, Main Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Rod Paradot, Benoit Magimel, Sara Forestier, Diane Rouxel, 118 minutes.