Review of The Verdict (1982) by Ray D — 29 Aug 2009

As a character study, and as a parable about life in the 20th century, it's terrific. As a courtroom movie, it's not very good. Screenwriter David Mamet's final monologue for the prosecution, for example, delivered by Paul Newman in one long close-up, as a largely-failed lawyer fighting for his own personal redemption as much as his client's, is not really a compelling legal argument.

He's going straight for the juror's (and the audience's) heartstrings. And the fact that we haven't seen a lot of the trial leading up to that moment means we're not able to contrast his take on things with wiley old defense attorney James Mason's--he's delivering a sermon, not trying to win an argument.

Luckily, the handling of the sermon is compelling---Newman is terrific as a failed attorney who chases pinball machines, not ambulances, and almost doesn't know what to do with the case that falls in his lap at the beginning of the movie.

Mamet's script is excellent--more concerned with examining how the court system affects the lives of those caught up in it, than with what happens in the courtroom as mentioned, and Sidney Lumet, although not throwing in a lot of flashy touches, does create a strong sense of faded veneer, of small warm spaces surrounded by the cold and the night, from the early scenes on.

A small amount of questionable misogyny makes the movie a slightly less enjoyable experience than it could have been, but it's still a solid film, and the final shot is terrific.