The Verdict
The Verdict is a 1982 American legal drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and written by David Mamet, adapted from Barry Reed's 1980 novel of the same name. It stars Paul Newman, Charlotte Rampling, Jack Warden, James Mason, Milo O'Shea, and Lindsay Crouse. A down-on-his-luck alcoholic lawyer accepts a medical malpractice case to improve his own situation, but discovers along the way that he is doing the right thing.
Plot
Once-promising attorney Frank Galvin is an alcoholic ambulance chaser. As a favor, former partner Mickey Morrissey sends him a medical malpractice case which is all but certain to be settled out-of-court for a significant amount. The case involves a young woman given general anesthesia during childbirth at a Catholic hospital, after which she choked on her vomit and was left comatose. The plaintiffs, her sister and brother-in-law, intend to use the settlement to pay for her care.
Awards
More details
| author | David Mamet Jay Presson Allen |
|---|---|
| award | National Board of Review: Top Ten Films |
| contentLocation | New York City |
| director | Sidney Lumet |
| editor | Peter C. Frank |
| events | alcoholism |
| genre | drama |
| keywords | ambulance chaser anesthesia anesthesiologist anesthesiology arrest bagman catholic hospital closing argument coma defendant disbarment expert witness former partner judge medical expert medical malpractice motion to strike move operating room plaintiff political machine reject stricken from the record young woman |
| musicBy | Johnny Mandel |
| nomination | Academy Award for Best Actor Academy Award for Best Director Academy Award for Best Picture Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay |
| producer | David Brown Richard D. Zanuck |
| productionCompany | 20th Century Fox |
| publisher | 20th Century Fox |
| recordedAt | Toronto |
| theme | legal drama |