Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: VHS Tape EAN: 9786301599894 Format: Closed-captioned ISBN: 6301599896 Label: 20th Century Fox Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: 20th Century Fox Release Date: 1997-04-01 Running Time: 129 Studio: 20th Century Fox Theatrical Release Date: 1982-12-08
Customer Rating: Summary: The Hero's Journey Comment: Ernest Becker, in his remarkably beautiful and insightful The Denial of Death, tells of how our mortality works to transfigure our lives into tales of overcoming -- of transforming ourselves from mortal creatures leading pointless lives into parts of an overarching eternal scheme. It is in this we find meaning. And so our life stories become crafted into heroic narratives.
And so it is in The Verdict, a movie that gets it right in both the large and the small. As a lawyer by training, I can say with great confidence that very few legal dramas and thrillers have so well and accurately depicted the lawyer's life. It is true in the details and in the broad strokes. Within minutes, The Verdict transports us into a world that not only rings true, but is true. From there, we focus in on a critical ethical conundrum, as well as the nexus between the symbolic (and heroic) in human nature and the venal practicalities of real life. With a brilliant, nuanced performance from Paul Newman, the central issue in the story gains a luminosity and clarity that will make The Verdict one of those timeless stories that demonstrate the lasting significance of cinema as storytelling.
Some spoilers follow.
Okay, all that being said, Paul Newman plays a lawyer who has lost his moorings. We learn that he began his career as a brilliant, promising law school graduate. Top of his class. Order of the Coif (the law school equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa on steroids). Fancy job at a fancy firm. And then, he sees the sordid underbelly of the law, the venality of his employers, and gets set up for a fall. Either he looks the other way at the criminal behavior of his firm, or he loses his license to practice law and maybe spends years in jail. And so, facing this choice, the idealism of this idealistic young lawyer loses out. He goes along with the cover up and loses his job to boot. His wife leaves him. And then, he begins a rather slow unwind into alcohol, negligence, and meaninglessness. A lost soul, in other words.
The Verdict picks up when Newman's character finds himself at the end of what may be his terminal losing streak. A new case is referred to him, and it will be the last, it appears. It is, Newman's character later recounts, "the case." It will be the death of him, or his redemption. Unfortunately, that isn't exactly consistent with his duty to the couple that hired him (although they really aren't his clients at all -- he represents a comatose young woman clinging to life as a result of medical malpractice). Suddenly realizing his own redemption is at stake, he rejects a handsome settlement offer without even advising the couple (his ethical obligations required him to tell them), and takes a half-assed stab at going to trial on the case. As his plan unravels -- including a disappearing witness who was the key to his case -- Newman has no choice but to go forward. To find out what he's really made of. To face down an insuperable foe and prevail, or die trying.
Capped off with a closing argument that is both incredibly moving and mercifully short (a hallmark of David Mamet's wonderful dialogue), The Verdict's ending may not be what you expect, but it is eminently meaningful, appropriate, and intelligent.
P.S. In A Few Good Men (Special Edition), you may note how Tom Cruise likely mimicked Paul Newman's performance in The Verdict. To me, it was uncanny.
Customer Rating: Summary: The Verdict: Mine, Yours, Ours Comment: More than a quarter-century after its release, "The Verdict" remains one of the most brilliantly-crafted and deeply-felt courtroom dramas in memory.
That fact alone might be enough to explain, perhaps, why I've watched it at least a dozen times.
Still, it wouldn't entirely explain why I expect to view it at least that many more times, as the crosscurrents of my life cause me to feel a need to reconnect with simple truths that "The Verdict" so artfully conveys in a running time of just over two hours.
Set in early-1980's Boston, Sidney Lumet's masterpiece (expertly adapted from a brilliantly taut screenplay by David Mamet) tells a compelling tale of betrayal and redemption and, ultimately, hope and empowerment--even in the face of overwhelming odds and torturously bleak circumstances.
The film concerns itself, on the surface, with human failings--the collapse of the law practice of its protagonist, attorney Frank Galvin (played by Paul Newman, in one of the most electrifyingly-vivid performances and emotionally-complex roles of his career), as well as the alleged malpractice of anesthesiologists at a Boston hospital to provide adequate care for Galvin's "client," who lapsed into a persistent vegetative-state coma four years earlier, when the doctors seemingly failed to note critical data on her hospital admittance form.
But it is on deeper, subtextual levels that the film transcends the limitations of its genre and period and becomes a darkly cautionary and deeply inspirational tale for us all--and one that will continue to caution and inspire viewers for as long as films are viewed for reasons other than sheer sensationalism.
I could provide example after example of instances in which "The Verdict" serves to illuminate the impact each of our lives has on each of the lives we touch, but I'll settle on a single breathtaking passage in the film, in which Newman presents his summation to the jury:
"You know, so much of the time we're just lost. We say, "Please, God, tell us what is right. Tell us what is true."
"There is no justice. The rich win, the poor are powerless.
"We become tired of hearing people lie. And after a time, we become dead....We start thinking of ourselves as victims. And we become victims.
"And we become weak. We doubt ourselves, we doubt our beliefs, we doubt our institutions. And we doubt the law.
"But today, you are the law. You are the law--not some book, not the lawyers, not a marble statue or the trappings of the court.
"Those are just symbols of our desire to be just. They are, in effect, a prayer--a fervent and a frightened prayer.
"In my religion we say, "Act as if you had faith, and faith will be given to you."
"If.
"If we are to have faith in justice, we need only to believe in ourselves. And act with justice."
Rent it, buy it, watch it (or watch it again--and again, if that becomes as necessary for you as it's become for me), and believe it.
Because ultimately, "The Verdict" makes us realize that we are all advocates of true justice and social equality or collaborators in a flawed system of status quo legal dispensations for the privileged and preferred.
And the jury is still out for each of us, considering the living, breathing "testimony" and real-world evidence we generate every day of our lives.
--Jim Parker Customer Rating: Summary: If only all courtroom dramas were as good as this one... Comment: Okay, so like this past month I've been spoiling myself, watching just about every movie Paul Newman ever made and I'm seriously ready to announce him to greatest actor who ever walked the face of this planet (I'm so sorry Russ...I still love you). `The Verdict' may honestly be my all time favorite performance by him, for it was so far and away from all that he had created in his previous performances. It was a real `Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt' type role; removed from his signature role yet just as infectious and quite possibly even more unbelievably brilliant.
In `The Verdict' Newman plays Frank Galvin, an aging lawyer whose heyday is far behind him and so he has found himself drinking away his sorrows. Frank is given a chance to revive his career when he is handed a medical malpractice suit. Frank has to fight an uphill battle littered with a biased judge, deceitful friends and his own bad habits that always seem to get in his way.
If there is a fault to be had with `The Verdict' it's that the film is predictable, but I have to question whether that is really a fault these days when it seems that the majority of movies are.
The film rises above any and all faults with a slew of marvelously fleshed out performances, not just from Newman but from everyone. James Mason is smooth and devilish as Ed Concannon, the lawyer going up against Frank, and Jack Warden is wonderfully complementing of Newman as his best friend and colleague Mickey. Charlotte Rampling is beautifully elusive as Laura Fischer, and Milo O'Shea is memorable and engaging as Judge Hoyle.
This film belongs to Paul Newman though. He creates one of his greatest characters in Jack Galvin, showing immensely well the growing conflict within his own person. He embellishes this man's drunken pride marvelously, and delivers to us a weathered and worn individual who is yearning for something greater than the sum of his own parts. With a rasp reminiscent of Clint Eastwood, and a cowering demeanor that adds layers to this man's back-story, Newman delivers his finest screen performance, the performance for which he should have won the Oscar.
Courtroom dramas are very easy to ruin. You have to have an engaging cast to compliment an engaging story that is told through the eyes of an engaging director. Thanks to three very engaging men (actor-Newman, writer-Mamet, director-Lumet) we have a marvelously crafted film that hits every mark extremely well. This will have you at the edge of your seat and it will leave you there long after the film has concluded.
A big `BRAVO' to everyone involved. Customer Rating: Summary: Newman's Own Comment: I've been filling out my collection of Paul Newman films since his passing - and THE VERDICT is one of his best films. A classic script by David Mamet, splendid direction by Sidney Lumet and one of Paul's best performances. The extras in this package are a great bonus. And it's a kick to see a young Bruce Willis sitting in the gallery in the courtroom scenes. An early acting lesson for him watching Newman work (along with Jack Warden, James Mason and a stunningly acted cameo by Lindsay Crouse in a pivotal role. For any fans of Newman - or fans of courtroom dramas - this is one of the all time greats. Customer Rating: Summary: Tremendous Actor Comment: This was a great role for Paul Newman. He was simply brilliant in his portrayal of the down-trodden Frank Galvin, esq. Good storyline as well.
In this 1982 courtroom drama written by David Mamet and directed by Sidney Lumet, Paul Newman found the perfect role for a transitional period of his stellar career. As alcoholic Boston lawyer Frank Galvin, Newman shook off his screen persona as a handsome, blue-eyed hunk to portray an aging, weary man whose best years are behind him, with a shot-glass future that looks very bleak indeed. But when Galvin is given a chance to redeem himself--by proving medical negligence in the case of a comatose woman--he makes one final effort to regain his self-respect and tarnished reputation. He's an underdog against formidable odds, facing a powerful, politically connected lawyer (James Mason, slick as ever) who will do anything to win his case, regardless of professional ethics. Further complicating matters is a woman (Charlotte Rampling) who only appears to be worthy of Galvin's trust and love, until Galvin's best friend and colleague (Jack Warden) proves otherwise. Excellent as both courtroom drama and riveting character study, the film crackles with Mamet's sharp dialogue; and Lumet's direction is a brilliant example of forceful restraint. The film gave Newman one of the best roles of his career; many felt he deserved the Oscar (he lost to Ben Kingsley in Gandhi) that would belatedly be given to Newman for The Color of Money. Along with Hud, Cool Hand Luke, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Verdict ranks highly as a signature performance by one of America's all-time greatest actors. --Jeff Shannon
