Review of The Verdict (1982) by Isaac W — 30 Jul 2012

A fine courtroom drama featuring one of Paul Newman's best performances, Sidney Lumet's thought-provoking classic is essentially an underdog story that focuses on a washed-up, alcoholic lawyer, Frank Galvin, who is given one last chance to redeem himself by taking on a case that sees him go up against a Catholic hospital which was responsible for the death of a young mother and the paralysis of her newborn baby.

The first half is essentially a character study and focuses on Galvin's desperate attempts to maintain his sanity and rehabilitate his already-crumbled reputation bolstered by Newman's trademark ability to make us warm to the character even though we are supposed to largely unsympathize with him for all his carelessness.

As the film progresses into the trial, Galvin continues to warm to us and thoguh the case progressively looks unwinnable, in spite of Galvin's lucklessness, it is a trial that is not over until the verdict is revealed.

This is not just a great film because of Lumet's direction or the Oscar-nominated performances of Newman and James Mason as the opposing lawyer, but also because of the various twists that occur throughout to the point that it is virtually impossible to guess what the outcome of the trial, so by the end of the film, what could have started as just an ordinary courtroom drama clearly becomes something special.

Gandhi took home the Best Picture Oscar of 1982, but in my opinion, this should have been the clear winner.