The Verdict Review

The 80s was rife with stories of underdog talents, hapless individuals floundering in destitute mediocrity, trying to get a foot on the ladder. We found it briefly in Wall Street with slick stockbroker Bud Fox, his rise and fall documented with tremendously muted style. Down-on-their-luck losers are no stranger to film, just turn your head towards Withnail & I for the best example the 80s period had to offer, but the work an ageing, frustrated Paul Newman put into his leading performance in The Verdict is close to stealing the top spot of this representation. A once-promising, alcoholic lawyer, chasing ambulances in the hopes of getting a quick case, The Verdict follows a lawyer who hits gold, a case that could make his career, but one that everyone, except him, wants to settle.

Hiding within the confines of a local pub, lawyer Frank Galvin (Paul Newman) staggers from drink to drink, hoping to hit his lucky break on the walks he takes looking for those involved in accidents. An ambulance chaser, he and others call him it often, and it’s said with such venom and hatred that it’d be rather easy to write Galvin off as a slimy, lazy lawyer. Newman realises a greater layer of depth to Galvin, he may be an ambulance chaser, but he’s also a lawyer desperate for a winning case. It soon becomes clear that this isn’t about money, it’s about respect and professional responsibility. Many films have detailed this motive before, but The Verdict is one of the few to show it as more than just a fleeting pocket of wisdom injected into the final scenes, it relies on this message for the whole of its running time, strengthening it and its characters.

Newman leads the charge, whilst 12 Angry Men alumni Jack Warden offers moral ballast in a supporting role as Mickey Morrissey. He and Newman have great chemistry, Morrissey is the devil on the shoulder of Galvin, someone who thinks he should take the easy way out, money is the end goal, so Galvin is already a winner. This Devil’s Advocate style clashes well with the morally strong lead, an incredible example of how Lumet can craft an engrossing story. Morrissey’s thought process is morally grey, but not entirely wrong. It’s a theme The Verdict contemplates often, and with such good direction from Lumet, it all comes together with impressive valour.

We should, as viewers, always expect nothing but perfection from Sidney Lumet and Paul Newman. The Verdict is near enough the perfection we should expect. One of the greatest courtroom dramas ever displayed, with such conviction from its cast and dedication from its director, The Verdict should be remembered and respected as a superbly tight drama. Strong performances, a well-paced trail of twists and turns to be followed, it’s an immaculate representation of the courtroom drama at the peak of its popularity, coupled with Newman and company giving performances of a lifetime.