Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

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.

Courtroom dramas outside of murder mysteries are a mixed bag, and some are incredibly boring. That is far from the case in this case, a medical malpractice suit where a woman goes into the hospital to have a baby and ends up in a lingering coma. Ambulance chaser attorney Paul Newman is on the verge of an alcoholic breakdown and is haunting funerals hoping to get a client. His actions are a disgrace, an embarrassment to watch, and when he takes on the case of the comatose woman from her sister, he seems to have crossed the line into callous immorality. But a sudden visit to the hospital opens his eyes, and after visiting the local cardinal whose diocese runs the hospital, he becomes determined to take the case to court rather than just accept a pricey settlement.After his showy performance in "Absence of Malice", Newman tops it, playing a greatly flawed man whose ethics have unexpectedly disappeared. But there's more to him than meets the bar exam and the bar tabs, and it comes down to a beautiful stranger (Charlotte Rampling) he meets to bring out those vulnerabilities that he's kept hidden. Jack Warden as Newman's veteran attorney mentor, James Mason as the head of the defense team and Milo O'Shea as the tough talking judge round out the cast of famous names, with Wesley Addy as a specialist on the case and Joe Seneca as an important witness give powerful performances as well. Seneca, known to"Golden Girls" as the man suffering from Alzheimer's whom Estelle Getty's character briefly befriended, is particularly memorable in his gentle characterization.Now a 35 year old modern classic, this is still timely because of legal ethics, medical malpractice issues still prevalent today, and is the type of film that really makes you think. I think had it not been for "Ghandi" the year that this came out, this may have been a front runner for Newman to win his first Oscar. I only find some of the Charlotte Rampling scenes to be out of place, even with the twist I saw coming long before it did. It's both a reunion for Warden and director Sidney Lumet from 1957's "Twelve Angry Men" and for Warden and Mason from "Heaven Can Wait". You'd have to be a pretty savvy New Yorker to recognize some of the locations for this Boston set film, but like the Charlotte Rampling issues, those factors are minor.

Being an admirer of both Sidney Lumet and Paul Newman and having heard many great things about 'The Verdict', expectations were high. Luckily those high expectations were met.Not quite top 3 Lumet like '12 Angry Men', 'Network' and 'Dog Day Afternoon', but it is very close ('The Wiz' being his weakest by considerable distance), while Paul Newman's role here in 'The Verdict' is one of his long and great career's crowning achievements. Being constantly shown Galvin's drunkenness and self-disgust occasionally got a little heavy-going for my tastes and one is not hugely surprised by the case's outcome.On the other hand, 'The Verdict' is a superbly made film, the dark and gritty visual works so well and complements the subject equally so. Lumet directs subtly but in a way that still feels skillful and engaging. The music is suitably atmospheric, and the script is wordy but still taut and compelling, avoiding sentiment and clichés and not dragging the film down into too much exposition while still making the characters interesting.The story does have a slow start but compels ceaselessly from the twenty five minute or so mark, succeeding as a quiet yet still edge-of-your-seat courtroom drama and even more so as a character study, with Galvin a fascinating character. There are great scenes here, especially the movingly powerful summation and the whole of Lindsay Crouse's appearance. While not the biggest fan of ambiguous endings, the ambiguity and open-interpretation of the ending didn't bother me here at all and Galvin's change was believable to me and wasn't that sudden.As hoped, Newman dominates the film and his powerful performance (like when he shuts himself in the bathroom, a master class of verbal-less acting) is one of his best and deservedly nominated for an Oscar (losing to Ben Kingsley in a strong and tough competition in that category that year). The supporting cast are more than up to his level, James Mason especially is on splendidly silky smooth yet quietly menacing form, as is a touching Lindsay Crouse, a charming Jack Warden, a blood-boilingly good Milo O'Shea and emotive Charlotte Rampling.In summary, helped primarily by the performance of Newman 'The Verdict' is one engrossing last chance at a big case. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Greetings from Lithuania."The Verdict" (1982) is a superb movie in all directions. This is an excellently paced drama which plays as well as a thriller - a court room thriller and more - a super character study movie. The great (and one of my favorite) Paul Newman plays Frank Galvin, a down on his luck old and alcoholic lawyer who takes on last case to prove to everyone (and mostly to himself) that unjustness done to people can be resolved. This movie is a superb study of case itself, court-room drama and characters. I won't go into details or plot, just going to say that at running time 2 h 5 min i just wanted for this movie to continue - a very rare case in todays movie world.Overall, "The Verdict" is excellently paced, directed, written (by great David Mamet) and acted court-room drama and character study. It's a smart movie, about true people. Al in all this is a great movie.