The Verdict
Growing a conscience when you're an alcoholic, ambulance chaser is a longtime movie trope (right?), but very few of those guys have been played by Paul Newman. Unfortunately, not even one of the world's greatest actors could overcome some problems with David Mamet's script, namely that Newman's motivations for taking a "let's just settle" civil case to trial are selfish and wrongheaded. Taking on the Catholic Church seems like an honourable move in 2022, sure, but that wasn't so obvious 40 years ago. Did even THE CHURCH deserve what happens in this movie? And is the ending in Sidney Lumet's Oscar-nominee actually a happy one? Was justice done? It's a complicated film. So don't be a double agent working for a talented-but-unscrupulous attorney. Just gather in what the 442nd Ellises' Analysis has to say about The Verdict. Oh, and you might want to be like Newman in the last scene and guzzle a bunch of coffee. We have a java sponsor! They are Sparkplug Coffee. Get a 20% discount when you use our promo code ("top100project"). Also, tweet us (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis) and also download Ryan's podcast, which is about sports movies (Scoring At The Movies).