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.

The film stars Paul Newman as a down-on-his-luck alcoholic lawyer who accepts a medical malpractice case to improve his own situation, but discovers along the way that he is doing the right thing.

Charlotte Rampling, Jack Warden, James Mason, Milo O'Shea and Lindsay Crouse also star in supporting roles.

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.

As Laura hastily arranges to meet him, Morrissey discovers a check in her handbag and realizes Concannon is paying her for inside information.

On the flight back to Boston, Morrissey suggests moving for a mistrial due to Concannon's ethics violation, but Galvin decides to continue.

Costello reveals that her superiors threatened her with termination unless she changed the original record from "1" to "9," but before doing so, she made a photocopy, which she brought to court.

Costello testifies that the anesthesiologist later confessed that he had failed to read her admitting notes and administered general anesthesia, which is incorrect for someone who ate only one hour prior.

That night, a drunk Laura drops her whiskey on the floor, drags her telephone towards her, and dials Galvin's office number.

A number of actors, including Roy Scheider, William Holden, Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant and Dustin Hoffman, expressed interest in the project because of the strength of the lead role.

Crouse also recalled Mamet struggling initially with Galvin's closing summation, but he finally came up with the scene after staying up an entire night working on it.

Newman was appreciative as they proved crucial in developing his performance, giving him the time he needed to tap into the emotional bankruptcy of his character.

[9] At one point during production, Newman barely avoided serious injury when a light estimated to weigh several hundred pounds fell about three feet away from him after breaking through its supports.

[9] The producers were reluctant to keep the scene where Newman strikes Rampling, believing it would turn the audience against his character and even damage his public image.

The website's critics consensus reads: "Paul Newman is at the peak of his powers as an attorney who never lived up to his potential in The Verdict, supported by David Mamet's crackling script and Sidney Lumet's confident direction.

"[11] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 77 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.