(Paul Newman - hottest attorney ever.)
CAST: Paul Newman, Charlotte Rampling, Jack Warden, Milo O‘Shea, James Mason, Lindsay Crouse, Roxanne Hart,
DIRECTOR: Sidney Lumet
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and one lawyer on the path to redemption - straight ahead…
Is there a cooler dude in the universe than the late Paul Newman? I don’t really think so. Many come close, but in the end they just don’t hold a candle to ol‘ Butch Cassidy. And it’s not just because he’s a smokin’ hot piece of prime Man Meat. Nope, I’d like to think I’m a little less shallow than that (ha ha). The truth is, what’s great about Paul Newman is how he subverted everyone’s expectations about how someone who looks like him should behave and think. Basically, we’re talking about someone who looks like a Roman God, but is as sharp as a finely-honed steak knife. Best of both worlds…
In THE VERDICT, our dude Paul plays Boston defense attorney Frank Galvin, who is actually more of an “ambulance chaser” if we’re getting down to brass tacks. Frank spends his days: (1) drinking; (2) hanging out at funerals hoping to get some malpractice lawsuits going; and (3) playing pinball at the local pub and… drinking. Safe to say that our Frank is not exactly the crème-de-la-crème of lawyers. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be chasing ambulances. He’d be chasing skirts at the local pub.
Oh, wait… he does that anyway. He ends up meeting cool, secretive, gorgeous Laura Fischer (Charlotte Rampling), who is apparently rebounding from a bad marriage. And she likes her booze, as well. Which pretty much makes her Ms. Right for ol’ Frank, who apparently never met a bottle of whiskey he never didn’t manage to inhale into his liver in three minutes flat. Marriages have been built on less, thank you very much.
At any rate, while Frank is making Laura’s acquaintance, the following interesting things are happening: (1) his best friend/mentor, Mickey Morrisey (Jack Warden), has found him a case that just might be his ticket back to the big-time; (2) it involves a pregnant woman who ended up in a coma because she was given the wrong anesthetic during her delivery; and (3) the archdiocese of Boston is implicated in the case because the hospital was a renowned Catholic institution. From Frank’s perspective, it’s pretty much an open-shut case, and he knows exactly what he needs to do: take pictures of the comatose patient and play hardball with the Catholic Church into settling big.
Which actually works. The Church offers to pay the patient’s family the nice, tidy sum (for 1982, anyway) of $210,000. As you can imagine, Frank pretty much jumps all over that, unaware of the fact that in 2011, that’s barely enough to buy you a condo in the sketchier neighborhoods of San Francisco or Los Angeles. Fortunately (or unfortunately, if you’re a miscreant), Franklin has a “crisis-of-conscience” and decides he cannot accept that settlement check ($70K of which would be his take-home pay) because it would be, you know, fucking wrong. Instead, he turns down the settlement - and decides to face off with the archdiocese and his homies in court.
Gotta love how these morally-bankrupt alcoholics grow a goddamn conscience at the most inopportune times. Sorry, but if I were Frank, my response would’ve been: “We’ll settle for nothing less than $300 grand. Make it happen, bitches - or else.” At any rate, Frank pretty much kisses off that payday and decides to go the rockier route of, ahem, redemption - which involves duking it out with the Church’s high-powered attorney, Ed Colcannon (James Mason), and his team of highly-trained pit bulls in human form. Safe to say, let’s hope Frank lays off the booze a little - otherwise Ed and his peeps are going to catch him seriously off-guard. Insert David vs. Goliath reference here.
So… does Frank stand a chance at proving the hospital caused his client to slip into the coma? Or will Ed’s team of eager-beaver junior partners tear Frank a new bunghole? What can Mickey do to help his pal/protégé? What about Laura? What role does she play in the unfolding case? Is she more than your basic love interest? Does she have an agenda of her own? Will Frank wish he’d just rolled over, gotten his belly rubbed, and scampered off with that check for $210k? Or will his “conscience” continue to “guide” him
Hard to say. Just don’t be surprised if his client’s family bitch-slaps him into the next zipcode when they find out how much moolah he turned down…
BUT, SERIOUSLY: I’ve always had a fondness for Underdog Films - movies in which a downtrodden and unfairly maligned protagonist seizes a chance to prove himself/herself and even the playing field. It’s one of the most enduring plots in the history of storytelling, and it has been the core of many classics throughout cinematic history. THE VERDICT is probably one of the best examples of this type of film. We have a down-on-his-luck attorney who is given a case that he could easily settle with a nice payday to himself - but he chooses, against all odds, to go the distance and fight to the finish - and to the death. Figuratively speaking.
Paul Newman proves again just how special an actor her is. As I mentioned before, you’d be hard-pressed to find an actor more handsome than Paul Newman. But unlike many actors who are strikingly attractive, Newman has a way of downplaying his physical appeal to make you see him as a vulnerable human being. Conversely, he also has the ability to play up his charm and smashing good looks to basically conceal a keen intelligence under those perfect looks. This is a very rare quality for an actor, and I’ve only seen it in elsewhere in Robert Redford and Kevin Costner.
Newman makes the character of Frank Galvin someone we can believe in absolutely. The script doesn’t shirk away from playing up just how decrepit Frank’s life has become. This is crucial so that, when he begins his climb out of the abyss (in the form of the malpractice case), the arc is all that more exhilarating and effective. You’d have to search hard to find a more classic underdog character than Frank Galvin - and Paul Newman brings this man to vibrant life, making him yet another memorable role in Newman’s illustrious career.
The supporting cast is filled with equally stellar performances. Jack Warden is his usual awesome gruff self as Frank’s hard-edged mentor who pushes Frank relentlessly because he cares about him and urgently wants him to take steps to improve himself. Charlotte Rampling takes the role of Laura Fischer, one that was never meant to be just another love interest role, and runs with it - turning the character into an alluring combo of cool mystery and unexpected loyalty. You can see why Frank would fall for her.
James Mason fleshes out a very interesting antagonist role in Ed Concannon. This guy is someone who is clearly a decent human being, and is adored by his his co-workers and friends. Yet, the fact remains that he’s been hired to protect the Catholic Church’s interest - and has to play hardball with Frank Galvin. So intriguing is this character that I found myself sympathizing with him in many scenes - even though he’s supposed to be the “villain”. Credit for that charismatic and magnetic performance should go to James Mason’s skills - as well as the literate script which refuses to paint any of the characters in simplistic shades of black and white.
In the end, THE VERDICT is intelligent, powerful entertainment that plays just as good now as it did in 1982. That’s the stamp of a great movie: it’s timeless….
