The adversary system we use as the means to determine guilt
or innocence may be the best we can do. But much like the rest our democratic
process, there is considerable room for improvement. These two courtroom dramas
deal with the inherent problems and collateral damage of our deeply flawed
justice system.
The Verdict — While this tough, taut film focuses more on one
attorney’s personal redemption, it also provides a good look at what money can
buy. Paul Newman plays the troubled
lawyer caught between conscience and success, between alcoholism and altruism. The cast is superb. In addition to an
incomparable Newman, we are blessed to have Charlotte Rampling, James
Mason and Jack Warden. Based on
the novel of the same name by Barry Reed,
The Verdict was turned into a
screenplay by David Mamet and
directed by Sidney Lumet. This 1982 film is highly recommended,
especially for its uncanny sense of realism.
… And Justice For All — The
Verdict is single minded, intensely focused, dark and gritty. Justice exists in a thinner atmosphere,
but has a broader vision. There are moments of humor. We almost don’t notice as lives are destroyed
by injustice, corruption, ambition and greed. We almost don’t notice, much like
real life, as the bodies pile up and souls sour. Al Pacino is the prime character in this ironic drama, about an attorney
who can’t quite believe there is nothing he can do to make things right. This
1979 courtroom drama was written by Valerie
Curtin and Norman Jewison, who
also directed. The supporting cast is superb: Lee Strasberg, Jack Warden,
John Forsythe, and Jeffrey Tambor. Recommended
In addition to the courtroom setting and the similar
morality tales, we have two of this country’s finest actors as East Coast
(Boston and Baltimore) lawyers in somewhat similar roles in movies only a few
years apart. For those who imbibe, whiskey was popular then and perhaps even
more popular now. For many, something
like a Pomegranate Spritzer might work.
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