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The Verdict (1982)

Director:
Sidney Lumet
COUNTRY
USA
GENRE
Drama
NORWEGIAN TITLE
Dommen
RUNNING TIME
129 minutes
Producer:
David Brown
Richard D. Zanuck
Screenwriter (based on the book by Barry Reed):
David Mamet


Cast includes:

CHARACTER ACTOR/ACTRESS RATING
Frank Galvin Paul Newman ½
Laura Fischer Charlotte Rampling ½
Mickey Morrissey Jack Warden ½
Ed Concannon James Mason ½
Judge Hoyle Milo O'Shea
Kaitlin Costello Price Lindsay Crouse
Bishop Brophy Edward Binns
Maureen Rooney Julie Bovasso
Sally Doneghy Roxanne Hart
Kevin Doneghy James Handy
Courtroom Observers Tobin Bell
Bruce Willis

 

Review

This may have been seen as Paul Newman's swan song when it was released, but luckily Newman enjoyed more and better swan songs later on in his career. The film's strength back in the day was its layered and ostensibly bold treatment of a medical malpractice lawsuit, but unfortunately for The Verdict's reputation, this subject matter is one that has been done far better and more elaborate time and time again both on the small and big screen since 1982. The result, seen in retrospect, is a film whose culmination is too soft and predictable to warrant its patient build-up, which is largely based around pseudo-psychological character analyses. Newman carries the film well – he was always good at that – but there's little depth to his relations with the many underdeveloped supporting characters, and as a result the film feels dated and largely irrelevant today.

Copyright © 27.03.2016 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang

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