''Custody'' is a 2016 American

courtroom drama A legal drama is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice pla ...

film directed and written by

James Lapine James Elliot Lapine (born January 10, 1949) is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for ''Into the Woods'', '' Falsettos'', and '' Passion''. He ...

. The film stars Viola Davis as a judge who presides over the custody case of a Latina woman named Sara ( Catalina Sandino Moreno) whose children are taken away after an episode of domestic violence. Hayden Panettiere plays the lawyer given Sara's case, with

Ellen Burstyn Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complicated women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Em ...

Selenis Leyva Selenis Leyva is an American actress. She is known for her role as Gloria Mendoza in the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–19), and also starred on the Disney+ comedy-drama series ''Diary of a Future President'' (2020 ...

, Olga Merediz, Dan Fogler, Raúl Esparza, and Tony Shalhoub in other roles. ''Custody'' was filmed in New York City in May 2015. The film world premiered in the Spotlight section of the 2016

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...

. The film premiered on Lifetime on March 4, 2017.

Plot

Sara Diaz is a single mother living in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

with her two kids, 11-year-old David and 8-year-old Tia. One night, she comes home from work to find David in a neighbour's house, where his friends drink and smoke

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various t ...

; after she angrily crashes the party and brings him home, they fight and he accidentally falls over a

glass Glass is a non- crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenchin ...

coffee table, injuring his

forehead In human anatomy, the forehead is an area of the head bounded by three features, two of the skull and one of the scalp. The top of the forehead is marked by the hairline, the edge of the area where hair on the scalp grows. The bottom of the fo ...

. She quickly

bandage A bandage is a piece of material used either to support a medical device such as a dressing or splint, or on its own to provide support to or to restrict the movement of a part of the body. When used with a dressing, the dressing is applie ...

s him and they make peace before tucking him in. On the next day, David's teacher notices his bruise and sends him to the school infirmary, which prompts the principal to summon ACS agent Luis Sanjuro, who questions Tia about the events of the previous night and takes both children to institutional care. Upon learning of this, Sara goes to their school and is advised by the principal to go to the

juvenile court A juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes that are committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern lega ...

to get them back. Her case is assigned to Martha Schulman, a

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

judge suffering from empty nest syndrome after her son Elliot goes to college, and Sara learns she'll be represented by Alexandra 'Ally' Fisher, a top-of-the-class but inexperienced young attorney appointed to her ''

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

''. In the first hearing, due to a highly-publicized error that led to the death of a 5-year old girl, the ACS is reluctant to recommend Tia and David's return home as consuelor Keith Denholz request for Sara to undergo a drug test, with which she complies; however, the case is further complicated during a second hearing when the results are positive for marijuana and PCP and Sara loses her temper at the courtroom, prompting Martha to send the children to a temporary

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family ...

and suggest her

anger management Anger management is a psycho-therapeutic program for anger prevention and control. It has been described as deploying anger successfully.Schwarts, Gil. July 2006. Anger Management', July 2006 The Office Politic. Men's Health magazine. Emmaus, PA: ...

therapy. This, along with Ally's apparent hesitance to litigate, deeply frustrates Sara. Upon discovering her husband Jason is having an affair with the caucasian wife of a very close friend of hers, Martha cuts his clothes with a scissor, confronts him and angrily kicks him out of their house. After a third hearing - in which the ACS disputes Sara's former claim that Shawn Monroe, Tia and David's father, is dead and both Martha and Sara lash out at each other -, Sara kidnaps her children from care and runs away, but eventually calls Ally for help: they share their life experiences and slowly begin to repair their initially taut relationship. This encourages Ally to confront her grandmother about a

molestation Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assau ...

suffered at the hands of her uncle Frank when she was little, a claim repeteadly downplayed by the latter "for the sake of the family". Upon learning Shawn - who is currently arrested - will be brought in before the court, Sara fears Tia and David won't handle the truth well, but Ally assures her it's the right thing. During his interrogation, he express outrage for being "left out" of his kids' life, but says he believes Sara might be a good mother and will agree to their return if both children confirm this. They meet for the first time, and, by the time of the final hearing, Shawn submits an

affidavit An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a stateme ...

requesting Sara to take sole custody. The ACS concurs and Martha allows them to return home, much to Sara's relief. A Christmas party is held to all the court's workforce, at which Martha and Ally exchange their beliefs on the system they work into. When a fellow colleague notes how much she drank, she realizes how stressful her life has become and leaves. The final scene shows Sara, Tia and David cheerfully arriving back home.

Cast

* Viola Davis as Judge Martha Schulman * Catalina Sandino Moreno as Sara Diaz * Hayden Panettiere as Ally Fisher *

as Beatrice Fisher *

as Jackie, Sara's friend * Olga Merediz as Joyce, Sara's mother * Dan Fogler as Keith Denholz * Raúl Esparza as Luis Sanjuro * Tony Shalhoub as Jason Schulman *

Kate Jennings Grant Kate Jennings Grant (born March 23, 1970) is an American actress. She has appeared in a number of Broadway productions during her career, including ''Proof'', ''An American Daughter'', and ''Guys and Dolls''. She also has appeared in films such as ...

as Nancy *

Stephen Kunken Stephen Michael Kunken (born c. 1971) is an American actor. He is known for the roles of Ari Spyros on Showtime's '' Billions'' and Commander Putnam on Hulu's '' The Handmaid's Tale''. His film work includes work with Martin Scorsese, Steven Spie ...

as Mark Dooley * Karen Pittman as Elaine Dunbar * Julius Tennon as Court Officer Joe * Nicholas L. Ashe as Elliot Schulman

References

External links

* * {{James Lapine 2016 films American courtroom films American legal drama films Films directed by James Lapine Films scored by Antônio Pinto 2010s English-language films 2010s American films