Review of The Verdict (1982) by Tim M — 25 Dec 2016

Newman stars as a Boston attorney who has fallen long ago into a spiral of uncontrolled drinking and spends most of his days either in a bar or at funerals trying to drum up a bit of business from the bereaved.

His buddy Jack Warden drums up an easy case for him ... a young woman reduced to a coma by seeming medical malpractice. All Newman needs to do is accept the guaranteed settlement offer, collect and move on.

Something awakens in him, however, and he turns down the offer, determined to win in court although nobody, including his clients, want to pursue this route. A brilliant film that takes the form of a court room drama, but is really more of a character study of a man who's been in a coma of his own for years until he ever so slightly wakes up.

Newman is superb and was robbed of his Oscar for this film. The equally amazing supporting cast includes James Mason, Charlotte Rampling, Milo O'Shea and Lindsay Crouse. What really makes this film transcend your average character alcoholic character drama is the combination of David Mamet's screenplay and Sidney Lumet's direction.

It's a slow, deliberate film that takes it's time in order to gain maximum effect from the small gains Newman's character achieves.