The Judgment is a 1982 American drama law film directed by Sidney Lumet and written by David Mamet of Barry Reed's eponymous novel. It stars Paul Newman, Charlotte Rampling, Jack Warden, James Mason, Milo O'Shea, and Lindsay Crouse. In his story, a low-luck alcohol lawyer accepts a medical malpractice case to improve his own situation, but finds along the way that he is doing the right thing.
The Verdict got critical praise and box office success. The film is nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Actor in Main Role (Paul Newman), Best Actor in Role Supporters (James Mason), Best Director (Sidney Lumet), Best Movie, and Best Adaptation Scenario (David Mamet).
Video The Verdict
Plot
The promising lawyer, Frank Galvin, who was tricked on jury accusations years ago, was fired from his elite company in Boston and became an alcohol ambulance chaser with little work. As a favor, his friend and former teacher, Mickey, sent him a medical malpractice case in which it was all assured that the defense would be satisfied with a large sum. This case involved a young woman who was given anesthesia during childbirth, after which she choked on her vomit and lack of oxygen. The woman is now a coma and respirator. Her sister and brother-in-law are expecting money awards to provide the right care. Frank assures them that they have a strong case.
Frank visits a comatose woman and is severely affected. Then, a representative from the Catholic hospital where the incident took place offered a substantial solution. Without consulting the family, Frank declined the offer and decided to take the case to court, wowing all parties including the presiding judge and the victim's family. Meanwhile, Frank, who is lonely, becomes romantically involved with Laura, having previously seen her in the bar.
Everything went fast for Frank: his client's brother-in-law knew from "the other side" that Frank had refused the settlement, and angrily faced Frank; his star medical expert disappears; hasty substitute confessions and testimonials are summoned to serious questions on the witness stand; his opponent, Ed Concannon's expensive lawyer, has a great legal team expert with the press; the presiding judge precluded Frank's question of the expert; and no one in the operating room is willing to testify that negligence has occurred. Concannon was shown paying off Laura.
Frank's break came when he discovered that Kaitlin Costello, the nurse who received his client to the hospital, is now a preschool teacher in New York. Frank went there to get his help, leaving Mickey and Laura working together at Frank's office. Mickey finds a check from Concannon in his handbag and concludes that Laura is a rodent, providing information to an opposing lawyer.
Mickey flies to New York to tell Frank about Laura's betrayal. Shortly thereafter, Frank faced Laura, hitting him and dropping him to the floor. Mickey later stated that it would be easy to get the case as a cancellation of the trial. However, Frank decided to continue.
Costello testified that, shortly after the patient became a coma, the anesthesiologist (one of two doctors on trial, along with Boston Archdiocese) told him to change his notes on a recognized form to hide his fatal flaw. He has written that the patient has been fed only an hour before being treated. The doctor failed to read the admitting note. Thus, in ignorance, he gave him an anesthesia that should never be given to a patient with a full stomach. As a result, the patient vomits and chokes.
Costello further testified that, when the anesthesiologist realized his mistake, he met with Costello personally and forced him to change the number "1" to the number "9" on his confession record. But before he made any changes, Costello made a photocopy of the note, which he brought to court. Concannon quickly changed the situation around by asking the judge to state the testimony of nurses who were struck by technical records. Feeling that his case was hopeless, Frank gave a brief but passionate closing argument.
When the judges came out, a diocesan lawyer commended Concannon's appearance to the bishop's accused, who asked, "but do you believe in him?" and met with a shameful silence.
The jury finds supporting Frank's client. The foreman then asked the judge whether the jury could provide more than the sum sought by the plaintiff. The judge resignedly replied that they could. When Frank was congratulated, he caught a glimpse of Laura watching him in the atrium.
That night, Laura, drunk in her bed, dropped the whiskey on the floor, dragged the phone toward her, and called for Frank. When the phone rang, Frank sat in his office with a cup of coffee. He moves to answer it, but ultimately it does not.
Maps The Verdict
Cast
Production
The movie rights for the novel were purchased by the team of Richard Zanuck and David Brown. A number of actors, including Roy Scheider, William Holden, Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant and Dustin Hoffman, expressed interest in the project due to the strength of its leading role. Arthur Hiller was initially tied up and David Mamet was hired to write the screenplay. Neither Zanuck-Brown nor Hiller liked the Mamet script, so Hiller left the project and the producer commissioned another scenario, from Jay Presson Allen. The producers liked this script and were approached by Robert Redford, who liked the project but did not like Allen's script. Redford suggested they hire James Bridges as a writer-director and Bridges writes some draft scenarios, but Redford is unhappy with one of them and Bridges leaves the project. Redford then began a meeting with Sydney Pollack without informing the producers; irritated, they fired Redford.
Zanuck and Brown then hired Sidney Lumet to direct, sending him all versions of the script. After some rewrites, Lumet decided that the original authenticity of the story quickly moved and chose the original Mamet script. It was approved by Paul Newman, who eventually agreed to star.
Bruce Willis has an unexceptional background appearance in addition to the last courtroom scene, in one of his first film appearances. Tobin Bell also appears, to the right Willis.
Reception
Rotten Tomatoes' review aggregation website gives The Verdict a score of 96% based on 27 reviews - an average rating of 7.8 out of 10. In a poll of 500 films held by Empire magazine , it was voted the 254th Best Movie of all time. In 2013, Writers Guild of America ranked the no. 91 on the list of "101 greatest scenarios ever written". Richard D. Pepperman praised the scene in which Judge Hoyle ate breakfast and offered Galvin coffee as "the use of extraordinary objects, to make a credible judge in his convenient and suitable private place, and Physical Action (movement) demonstrating the subtext of the aims of the Judge ( to support insurance companies, doctors and their lawyers) without much expository dialogue. "
The film is recognized by the American Film Institute in this list:
- 100 Years AFI... 100 Heroes and Villages:
- Frank Galvin - Nomination Hero
- 2006: AFI 100 Years... 100 Cheers - # 75
- 2008: 10 Top 10 AFI:
- # 4 Drama Courtroom
See also
- Test movie
- The case of Karen Ann Quinlan, a patient in a persistent vegetative state that established the precedent of American law in 1976
References
External links
- Verdict on IMDb
- Verdict in Rotten Tomatoes
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments