heliotis (12/28/82)
I'm afraid I was a tad disappointed in "The Verdict", perhaps only because of all the positive reviews. Paul Newman did give a pretty good performance, though (I was told that his face did not match his behavior, w.r.t. the wear and tear the alcoholism should have caused). Our favorite performances, however, were those of his friend (the other lawyer--forgot his name) and the brother-in-law of the woman in the coma. [SPOILER] My wife and I both agreed that the problem was that the story did not have enough reality; it was too much a "fairy tale" in how justice was done in the end. The characters were a bit too sterotyped in their corruption/evilness. Although Gavlin worked pretty hard to get his key witness, we didn't feel that he deserved much of the credit for the verdict. In fact, when he first got confident about the case, he was unaware of the fact that won it for them. My personal rating for this movie is $3. Jim Heliotis
ms (01/04/83)
I saw this film recently and those of you who may still be hunting throgh the latest releases looking for one worth the $4.00+ may be interested in this. Firstly thr 'R' rating is slightly high I feel but a least it keeps the kids away, most of whom will find it boring anyway. I watched it having heard that Paul Newman was supposed to be superb - and he did a good job, if he had'nt been so good the movie would have been terrible. This is not to say that he does not have some excellent support but basically the movie revolves round him and this one case he is fighting to win. The movie starts out slow and it has a couple of twists in the middle but it is exciting and I found it very watchable in the same way I like watching a series such as "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" although the stories are of course in no way comparable. Don't go with any great expectations and I think you'll get your money's worth and you'll also think that Paul Newman is very good but most of all I think you'll agree that he won't win an Oscar.
jackson.pa@PARC-MAXC.ARPA (05/03/83)
Very good flick but depressing. An alchoholic loser lawyer kicks it over one more time. He doesn't get religion though, and still acts like a loser. Consistant acting, realistic gritty interpersonal relationships. I avoided seeing it for a long time because I suspected that it was more depressing than I cared to deal with, but Tootsie was STILL sold out and I had traveled over the hill... Looked at Rocky Horror immediatly afterwards. As always, great light entertainment for the deviant of heart.