June 17, 2010
The Verdict
Let’s just get it out of the way: Paul Newman rocks his roles. Cool Hand Luke, The Sting, there’s alot to love. He is missed greatly. However, one role that doesn’t get as much praise on that grand circuit is his role as Frank Galvin in The Verdict.
It got nominated for best picture in ’82, and Newman himself was nominated for his role. No Academy Awards in the end though. Only at times did it strike me as the kinda movie that grabs the big awards…but no doubt the stiff competition didn’t help.
Things I didn’t like:
-This isn’t “by the book” in my limited knowledge of law. Don’t watch this if you want a realistic courtroom drama.
-One line from the end of the film, but lets get to that later in the spoiler area.
-Bad accents from some of the characters. Your in Boston, and unless you are trying to make a mockery of it, lets all get on the same page.
Aaaand that’s it. Positives time.
-Cinematography. Brilliant stuff. I love wide shots, I love panning shots, I love getting to know the environments my characters are in with all the right angles, close-ups, moving shots, and context. Through and through, beautifully done by everyone.
-The character arcs. This gets a bit more into the spoiler-y area, so lets save this.
-The unlikable likability of Frankie. Let’s be clear here, in what I hope isn’t a spoiler (it’s on the movie poster for Pete ‘s sake). Frank is being selfish in this movie. The plantiff and the defendents are ready to settle out of court. Only Frank feels the need to press the issue, as he’s decided to make this his one shot at reinventing himself. It’s not that he feels that much better about this case then others, or the people around him. He’s just hit that point in his life that he’s ready to throw the gauntlet down. Surely, that’s kind of admirable, but in another sense he is wasting everyone’s time. He is the only one looking to drag this out, not the other lawyers, plantiffs, judge, jury, anyone. Don’t get me wrong, you will feel the need to cheer for him, but he won’t make it easy.
- I’m a sucker for one-take shots. I’ve talked about this before with things like Children of Men. This (spoilers!!) one ranks high up there, though it definitely needs its context. So only watch if you need to remember how great it was…otherwise it won’t have its power. But for those of you watching it…the pacing of the monologue, the camera zoom, everything. Moving stuff.
- Paul freakin’ Newman. There, I said it again.
- Actually, the rest of the gang too. The love interest, the other lawyer, all the bit players make for a cohesive and interesting group to follow. Well performed, aside from the accent issues stated above.
- Ambiance of the beginning. I know this goes back to cinematography a bit, but it is worth special mention. It’s around the holidays. No music. In a dark bar, the dimly lit Paul Newman plays pinball (which we do hear) while sipping away at a beer. It’s dark. It sets the mood perfectly for a starting point. The holiday-ish looking font of the credits helps too. On the same token.
- ***SPOILERS! TONS OF SPOILERS*** The ending works in the same way. According to commentary, things were scripted to end in the courthouse. This is much better. But while we are there, my one gripe. We get it, Paul Newman wins the trial. But does the jury really have to bother saying, “Hey Judge, we want to make this extra painful to the defendent, can we ask for more money?” Just seemed unneeded and made the pacing a bit chippy for me. But back to the point. Courtroom victor, Galvin is back! And then, there’s Laura. Drunk as a skunk, calling Frank. There’s Frank, the opposite of the beginning. He isn’t drinking. In fact, if he picks up the phone, it’s likely the first time she has alcohol and he doesn’t. Laura has begun Frank’s arc, and after having played double agent and selling her morals, needs to learn the lessons Frank has. But that doesn’t even touch what that does to Frank and Laura’s relationship. Does Frank recognize where Laura is, and that she might still love him? Bear in mind, they never had a chance to talk, ever. The last contact they had was a hand to the face in NYC. There’s a lot he doesn’t know, there’s a lot she wants him to know. And the phone just keeps ringing. I love Paul Newman’s eyes and he states at the phone. Somehow in this era predating call waiting…he just knows who is at the other end of that phone line and what picking it up means. No talking, just ringing. And then, an abrupt cut to black. Don’t you just hate ambiguous endings? Heck no. As stated, I think we already know that Laura is starting this new arc. And whether or not Galvin let’s her back into his life, we need to believe that Frank is a force for good now, and is not corruptible. As we learned from his background, he had a good reason to lose faith in the system, but that jury is is so fond of restored his faith. Hopefully he, or the jury, can restore Laura’s faith. And while we don’t know what the future holds, for better or for worse, everything is as it should be. And that makes it everything ok in my book. ****END OF SPOILERS*****
Final score: 9/10. Great movie, get it on Netflix while you are waiting for good movies to come out this year.
