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Marvelous appreciation of one small moment in The Verdict<\/i><\/a> by Stephen Metcalf.<\/p>\n But the scene I kept coming back to sets up the whole film. It’s hardly noticeable. Newman is intent on bedding a fellow barfly played by Charlotte Rampling. He buys her dinner the night before voir dire, and for the first time in the film, we come up close to Newman’s face. The deep-set mask of middle-aged failure softens. Watch Newman here, ye who would be actors; study him. Where does this come from? “See, the jury believes. The jury wants to believe.” The lines are almost inconsequential. But Newman is giving us evidence that Galvin is still alive. “It is something to see. I have to go down there tomorrow and pick out 12 of them. All of them\u00e2\u0080\u0094all their lives\u00e2\u0080\u0094say, ‘It’s a sham, it’s rigged, you can’t fight city hall. But when they step into that jury box \u00e2\u0080\u00a6 you just barely see it in their eyes. Maybe, maybe \u00e2\u0080\u00a6” Rampling leans imperceptibly forward. “Maybe what?” And Newman exhales\u00e2\u0080\u0094just a little\u00e2\u0080\u0094putting a lifetime of defeat into that exhale, and suddenly Frank Galvin is talking about himself. “Maybe I could do something right.” <\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Marvelous appreciation of one small moment in The Verdict by Stephen Metcalf. But the scene I kept coming back to sets up the whole film. It’s hardly noticeable. Newman is intent on bedding a fellow barfly played by Charlotte Rampling. … Continue reading