The Verdict

The Verdict is a dramatic courtroom film that was released on December 8, 1982. Staring in the leading role of Frank Galvin, Attorney at Law, is Paul Newman. It was nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Actor in a leading role, Best Director and Best Picture.

Frank Galvin (Paul Newman) is an alcoholic Boston Attorney who has been reduced to ambulance chasing. Galvin is offered a malpractice suit by a former associate, Mickey Morrissey (Jack Warden), who reminds him of his obligations as an attorney. All parties want to settle out of court, but when Galvin visits the the plaintiff Deborah Ann Kaye (Susan Benenson) in an aftercare facility, looking at her paralyzed and in a vegetative state, he realizes her case needs to go to court. He refuses a moderate settlement the Arch Dioceses and the hospital offer as a settlement and begins his efforts to punish those guilty of malpractice and to get a settlement for his client more commensurate with her loss. He knows that the Catholic Church and its attorney Ed Concannon (James Moson) will be formidable opponents and he decides to take them on anyway.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084855/synopsis

• Paul Newman as Frank Galvin

• Charlotte Ramping as Laura Fischer

• Jack Warden as Mickey Morrissey

• James Mason as Ed Concannon

• Milo O'Shea as Judge Hoyle

• Lindsay Crouse as Kaitlin Costello

• Ed Binns as Bishop Brophy (as Edward Binns)

• Julie Bovasso as Maureen Rooney

• Roxanne Hart as Sally Doneghy

• James Handy as Kevin Doneghy

• Wesley Addy as Dr. Towler

• Joe Seneca as Dr. Thompson

• Lewis J. Stadlen as Dr. Gruber (as Lewis Stadlen)

• Kent Broadhurst as Joseph Alito

• Colin Stinton as Billy

"...it's that Newman performance that stays in the mind. Some reviewers have found "The Verdict" a little slow moving, maybe because it doesn't always hum along on the thriller level. But 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."— Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Timeshttp://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19820101/REVIEWS/201010351/1023

"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. David Mamet's script [from a novel by Barry Reed] offers little out of the ordinary."—Varietyhttp://www.variety.com/review/VE1117796096.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&query=verdict