One-time hotshot Boston lawyer Frank Galvin (Newman) took the blame for a senior partner years ago, and though his name was cleared, he lost his wife and career momentum. Now he drinks, plays pinball, and reads the obits for funerals where he can pretend to have known the deceased and scare up some work. Mickey Morrissey (Warden), an old friend and mentor, throws Galvin a slam-dunk case that will make him quick and easy money: a medical malpractice case in which all the parties are willing to settle. A Catholic hospital gave an expectant mother the wrong anesthesia and she has been in a coma ever since; the hospital offers a $210,000 check to settle, a third of which will be Galvin's. But he decides against the wishes and advice of everybody (including an annoyed judge) to take the case to trial for the sake of nailing the guilty, a shot at a fairer settlement for his clients, and to redeem his moth-eaten soul. At his side is new girlfriend Laura Fisher (Rampling), and across the room is powerful defense lawyer Edward J. Concannon (Mason), whom Mickey calls "the prince of darkness." This 1982 film is directed by veteran Sidney Lumet and written by David Mamet (only his second screenplay) and based on a Barry Reed novel.
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The review of this Movie prepared by David Loftus
