570996, Is The Vedict the best thing Lumet ever directed? Posted by ricky_BUTLER, Mon Jun-27-11 06:47 PM
A multiple-Academy Award nominated film directed by Sidney Lumet, written by David Mamet, and starring Paul Newman, James Mason, Jack Warden, and Charlotte Rampling probably doesn't qualify as hidden, but I had ignorantly and regrettably passed it by for a long while now. If you haven't seen it still, don't pass it by as well.
Neck-and-neck with Anatomy of a Murder as far as courtroom dramas.
Probably surpassing Hud as Newman's most fully-realized performance.
Less showy than 12 Angry Men or Network, but maybe Lumet's best showcase of skill nonetheless.
Every character gets a moment but never comes off as contrived.
The courtroom procedural stuff feels every inch authentic.
It's tense and gripping while also reflective and somber at times.
Plot and character surprises are revealed precisely and never seem put on.
Lumet was hardly the most visually striking director, but the framing here, settling primarily for observant static long shots, is superb, and again the story unfolds gracefully and with great expertise.
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