Down and out lawyer/ambulance chaser Frank Galvin (Paul Newman) sees an opportunity to earn an easy buck when he presented with a case of a woman who had been put in a coma due to the negligence actions of a few doctors. However, when Galvin witnesses first hand what the hospital have done to the poor woman, his conscience kicks in and he refuses to accept a fairly substantial 'out of court' settlement and decides to take the 'big corporation' to trial despite losing numerous cases in the past and being a bit rusty as a defence attorney...
The Verdict is another 'little man' versus 'big corporation' film and narratives of this nature are very easy to get swept up in - after all who doesn't want to see the little man wiping the smiles off the faces of the much bigger fish? Therefore despite the film suffering from a rather uneven pace (the first half is a little laborious and I felt that Lumet could have got to the 'meat' of the film a little quicker) I did still find it a fairly involving affair...
Once we arrive in the second half of the film (the courtroom section) then the film rarely disappoints and this is where Lumet really shines - he tends to be good at creating tension when his narratives are mostly confined to one location (think 12 Angry Men or Dog Day Afternoon). Whereas The Verdict isn't quite a match for those 2 films it does come pretty close.
As far as performances go then this film really does belong to Paul Newman; he's been terrific in everything I've seen him in, but this is probably one of his strongest performances. He is helped slightly by Lumet who pitches his character as pitiful and slightly unlikeable in the early stages, but then gets us back on his side due to his dogged determination and his rather creative detective work. Supporting cast are all fine with no real weak players, but this one really belongs to Newman who truly nails it.
Had it been slightly better paced and a bit shorter than I may have rated this slightly higher, but the first half did feel a bit padded out and laborious (Galvin's various pinball games, visits to the bar etc) were overdone and didn't really seem to add much - apart from showing that he was an alcoholic which had already been established earlier in the film??
Still pound for pound this is another excellent film from Lumet and is one that lovers of courtroom dramas or little man vs big corporation stories should find relatively enjoyable.
The Verdict is another 'little man' versus 'big corporation' film and narratives of this nature are very easy to get swept up in - after all who doesn't want to see the little man wiping the smiles off the faces of the much bigger fish? Therefore despite the film suffering from a rather uneven pace (the first half is a little laborious and I felt that Lumet could have got to the 'meat' of the film a little quicker) I did still find it a fairly involving affair...
Once we arrive in the second half of the film (the courtroom section) then the film rarely disappoints and this is where Lumet really shines - he tends to be good at creating tension when his narratives are mostly confined to one location (think 12 Angry Men or Dog Day Afternoon). Whereas The Verdict isn't quite a match for those 2 films it does come pretty close.
As far as performances go then this film really does belong to Paul Newman; he's been terrific in everything I've seen him in, but this is probably one of his strongest performances. He is helped slightly by Lumet who pitches his character as pitiful and slightly unlikeable in the early stages, but then gets us back on his side due to his dogged determination and his rather creative detective work. Supporting cast are all fine with no real weak players, but this one really belongs to Newman who truly nails it.
Had it been slightly better paced and a bit shorter than I may have rated this slightly higher, but the first half did feel a bit padded out and laborious (Galvin's various pinball games, visits to the bar etc) were overdone and didn't really seem to add much - apart from showing that he was an alcoholic which had already been established earlier in the film??
Still pound for pound this is another excellent film from Lumet and is one that lovers of courtroom dramas or little man vs big corporation stories should find relatively enjoyable.