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The Verdict

1982

Sidney Lumet

Paul Newman, Charlotte Rampling, Jack Warden, James Mason ...

7.4

13,738

Drama Sidney Lumet directs Paul Newman as an alcoholic lawyer whose once-promising legal career is on the skids and who gets and one last chance to prove himself in this tense courtroom drama. Frank Galvin (Newman) can't even scare up clients anymore until a colleague Mickey Morrissey (Jack Warden) helps him out by passing a routine malpractice case his way. Frank is just going through the motions until he meets the victim, a woman who has ... [+]

	Media	Author	Review
		Janet Maslin The New York Times	"A clever, suspenseful, entertaining movie (...) This is as good a role as Mr. Newman has ever had, and as shrewd and substantial a performance as he has ever given"
		Roger Ebert rogerebert.com	"If you bring empathy to the movie, if you allow yourself to think about what Frank Galvin is going through, there's not a moment of this movie that's not absorbing (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"
		Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader	"Sidney Lumet's direction, like David Mamet's patchy script (...) may not be quite good enough to justify the Rembrandt-like cinematography of Edward Pisoni and the brooding mood of self-importance, but it's good direction nonetheless"
		Oliver Lyttelton IndieWire	"A moody and intense court room drama (...) [It] is still one of the many jewels in his oeuvre crown and was extremely well-regarded during its day"
		Keith Staskiewicz Entertainment Weekly	"Newman is aided by David Mamet’s morally complex script and superb direction by Sidney Lumet"
		Variety	"There are many fine performances and sensitive moral issues contained in 'The Verdict' but somehow that isn't enough to make it the compelling film it should be"
		William Thomas Empire	"It's Newman's performance itself that really makes this film work and helps it truly get close to Lumet's own '12 Angry Men' (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Adrian Turner Radio Times	"It's a compelling, if wordy, piece (...) Charlotte Rampling and James Mason are in the fine supporting cast (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Jesse Hassenger AV Club	"'The Verdict' is a less joyful experience than 'E.T.' or 'Tootsie', but it offers an Oscar-friendly routine (...) with greater restraint than most"
		James Keast Exclaim!	"It's a beautifully made film and features a stunning, Academy Award nominated performance by Newman. As a character study, it's fabulous"

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