Paul Newman was
one of the best actors of his time and Sydney Lumet one of the best directors
ever so naturally the two of them working together is one of the greatest
combinations imaginable. Based on a book adapted by David Mamet, The Verdict (1982) tells a fairly simple
David and Goliath story of a washed-up lawyer fighting a case against a huge
legal team. You could argue they don’t make movies like this anymore today, but
in fact they are still being made every year. The difference is stories like this
end up on the small screen where all the smart stories are made. Not so in the
1980s.
Sydney Lumet has
made quite a few films on Empire magazine’s list of the 500 greatest movies
ever made, notably his first feature 12
Angry Men. That one I had already seen when I watched The Verdict on Netflix a few weeks ago, so it felt a bit like a
spiritual sequel. Whereas 12 Angry Men focused
on what goes on in the jury room, this film focuses mostly on the lawyers, a
little on the plaintiffs stuck between the two, and also stops in the judge’s
office where he is imparting wisdom over his breakfast. Like many people I have
seen my fair share of episodes of great legal shows like Law & Order, Boston Legal, and The Good Wife, but The
Verdict is worth any of those shows if only to see Paul Newman defending
the little guy.
Newman stars as
Frank Galvin, a Boston lawyer who was once part of an elite law firm, but
thanks to a series of unfortunate events is now reduced to giving his business
cards at funerals in the desperate hope the bereaved might want to hire him to
sue whoever is responsible for their loved ones’ death. Frank is heading for
rock bottom and he knows it. After a night of heavy drinking at his usual bar
he trashes his office, which was not much to look at in the first place.
Hope comes from
his old friend Mickey (Jack Warden) who gives a case he is sure to win. A woman
was admitted into a hospital run by the Archdiocese of Boston and was given the
wrong anaesthetic during childbirth, causing her to lose her baby and to go
into a coma. The patient’s family wants to settle so they get the money they need
to take care of her and the Archdiocese and the hospital are more than happy to
oblige. All Frank needs to do is negotiate a price and the case is closed.
Only the more
Frank looks at the case, the less he is interested in settling. A doctor and
possible witness for the case asks him if he is interested in getting to the
truth, which is a damned good question. While taking pictures of the patient at
the hospital for the case, he remembers she is not just a file: she is a human
being who was seriously injured because somebody screwed up. Against the
expectations of everyone from his clients to Mickey he decides to take the
hospital to court. This, he decides, is the case he that will bring him out of
his slump.
Easier said than
done. Thinking his friend has made a huge mistake; Mickey joins forces with
Frank and reminds him the Archdiocese will throw everything they have at the
case now that they are fighting this in public. To his horror the lawyer who
will represent the hospital is Ed Concannon (James Mason), whom Mickey
describes as “the prince of fucking darkness.” A bit hyperbolic, but it is
clearly established Frank and Mickey are fighting a formidable opponent.
Concannon has a full boardroom of people doing research, coaching key
witnesses, and using the media to sway public opinion.
Frank and Mickey
on the other hand have to spend long hours at night desperately making phone calls
to find witnesses or medical experts to help their case. In a sign of the
times, when they do find a medical expert they are disappointed to see he is
black, while Concannon’s people see this as good news for them. Not that they
would ever says so in public of course.
With a story like
this it is easy to predict what the jury will decide at the end, but Lumet and
Mamet do an excellent of establishing tension and making you wonder whether or
not Frank will get his comeback. If this case was taking place in real life
odds are the lawyer with all the money would win. That is why we go to the
movies: it is so much fun to see Goliath fall.
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