Sidney Lumet, one of the most respected American film makers in second half of 20th Century, started his career in 1957 with 12 Angry Men, film which is now considered to be among the best courtroom dramas ever made. It is hardly surprising that The Verdict, his 1982 film which represents the last outstanding piece of his filmography, belongs to the same genre.
The protagonist, played by Paul Newman, is Frank Galvin, once promising Boston attorney whose private life and career were in downward trajectory for the past decade and who is now reduced to pathetic ambulance chaser, drowning his sorrows in alcohol. His old friend and mentor Mickey Morrisey (played by Jack Warden) offers him the last chance to put his career and life in order by sending him potentially lucrative medical malpractice case which looks like a slam dunk. Galvin is to represent family of a young woman who ended in vegetative state while giving birth in hospital. The case is not supposed to go to the trial, because Galvin is offered hefty sum for out-of-court settlement. Everybody expects Galvin to accept and Galvin himself is inclined to do so until he visits the woman in hospital and becomes convinced that the public exposure of the hospital’s wrongdoing is the right thing to do. The hospital is, however, owned by Catholic Church and the powerful and influential Bishop Brophy (played by Edward Binns) can afford to hire the best attorneys. This include firm led by skilful and ruthless Ed Concannon (played by James Mason) who has formidable personnel and financial resources at his disposal. To make things even worse, Judge Hoyle (played by Milo O’Shea) doesn’t like Galvin and uses his refusal to settle as an excuse to consistently rule against him during the trial. Soon, everything that could go wrong with Galvin’s case goes wrong, including his star witness suddenly leaving Boston for foreign vacation before he could be brought to trial.
Based on the best-selling novel by Boston attorney Barry Reed, The Verdict strays from most of the conventions of Hollywood courtroom dramas. The plot deals with civil rather than criminal case and the script by famous playwright David Mamet (whose wife Lindsay Crouse appears in small but pivotal role near the end of the film) actually doesn’t pay that much attention to courtroom proceedings and instead concentrates on various shenanigans that precede the trial. The Verdict paints the very dark and depressive picture of US legal system, in which the outcome of the trial can be better predicted by someone’s financial resources and political influence, rather than the actual evidence or someone’s legal talent. The protagonist is clearly written as underdog in a way so obvious that Croatian film critic Darko Zubčević once described The Verdict as “The Rocky in the courtroom”. Unlike Stallone’s hero, who was merely a kind-hearted man down on his luck, Frank Galvin starts as pathetic and incompetent loser whose arrogance, even when he ultimately makes the right decision, threatens the well-being of his clients. And the forces he must fight are much more sinister, including Church that wants to sweep the medical malpractice scandal under the rug in the way eerily similar to the scandal later presented in Spotlight.
The film, ultimately, rests on the shoulders of Paul Newman who delivers one of the most memorable performances of his career and the first in which the former screen idol enthusiastically embraced his advanced age. He plays character who has obviously seen the better days and whose flaws make him complex; yet Newman manages to make the audience root for him. Newman is accompanied by cast of great actors, many of whom deliver strong performances even in seemingly unimportant side roles. Lumet, known for his minimalistic style, allows actors to do the most work, but he also effectively employs cinematography of Andrzej Bartkowiak and Boston locations during late autumn and winter to create downbeat atmosphere of despair. The film also almost doesn’t have any music and the theme by Johnny Mandel is heard only at the end credits. There is, however, one annoying detail that makes The Verdict deeply flawed film. It is romantic subplot involving Laura, woman Frank Galvin managed to pick up in the bar. She is played by Charlotte Rampling, an actress very pleasing to the eye, but somewhat too good to be true for middle-aged loser like Galvin. While some of the viewer’s scepticism gets justified later in the film, the plot twist is too outrageous and seems too Hollywood-like for otherwise very realistic courtroom drama.
RATING: 7/10 (++)
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