12 Angry Men (A or 4/4 stars)
For me, '12 Angry Men' (based on a stage play & directed by Sidney Lumet) is one of the finest court dramas ever to be made. In fact, I believe that it is THE movie that other court dramas aspire to be as brilliant as. The plot: a young Puerto Rican man is on trial for murder, accused of killing his father with a knife. The closing statements have been made. And our 12 jurors retire to the jury room, knowing that the defendant is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. These men are tired. The mood is dour. The weather is hot & humid. And tension drips in the air as much as sweat.
11 of the 12 jurors initially vote for conviction, each for their own straightforward reasons. The holdout is Juror #8, played by Henry Fonda (who also co-produced this film). As Fonda persuades the weary jurors to re-examine the evidence, we also learn their back stories. Juror #3 (Lee J. Cobb), a bully of a man, has estranged himself from his own son. Juror #7 (Jack Warden) has a mistrust of non-Americans; as does #6 (Edward Binns). Juror #4 (E.G. Marshall) advocates cool, deductive reasoning for his stance. Juror #5 (Jack Klugman) hopes that his guilty vote will distance himself from his past (one similar to the defendant).
Jurors #10 (a grouchy Ed Begley) & #11 (George Voskovec), so certain of the 'Law', assume that if the young man was arrested, then he must be guilty. Juror #12 (Robert Webber) just thinks the young man is guilty. And Jurors #1, #2, & #9 (Martin Balsam, John Feidler, Joseph Sweeney) just go with the flow of things, don't want to make waves, & want outta there in a timely manner. The languorous and excruciatingly hot day draggggs into an even hotter evening as Henry Fonda chips & chips & chips away at the decidedly guilty verdict, insisting that his fellow 11 jurors bear in mind those 2 powerful words: "reasonable doubt." Various jurors start to change their minds. But all 12 must be in complete agreement. And drama ensues as the rain starts to fall & tensions grow even higher.
'12 Angry Men' goes to show how effective, powerful, & superb a movie can be - even when it was made for next to nothing. Furthermore, this is a movie where tension comes, not from action, but from personality conflicts, stretches of dialogue, looks, & other body languages. There is so much nuance to every little thing that these characters say & do that effects the outcome. Sidney Lumet is a brilliant director of actors. And boy oh boy did he do a great job with this lot of 12. Henry Fonda exudes such a calm, cool presence as the man who remains unflustered in trying to get his fellow jurors to consider a 'not guilty' verdict.
Lee J. Cobb is terrifying as Juror #3; a man with so much anger pent up inside that you wonder how he deals with people on an everyday basis. And yet, he finally shows his humanity in a late, heartbreaking burst of dialogue. Martin Balsam holds his own as Juror #1, trying to keep matters flowing. Jack Warden is a hoot as Juror #7 with his silly hat & coat. And Joseph Sweeney is fantastic as Juror #9, the 1st man to see what Henry Fonda is getting at and switch his vote to 'not guilty'.
Everyone is great. I just choose to mention that cluster. The direction is succinct. The writing is superb. Everything makes sense. Everything gets you thinking. The pacing of the 92 min. film is bang on. The atmosphere (a claustrophobic room with rain pouring outside) is wonderful. I could go on. '12 Angry men' is one of the best films of its year. I saw it in high school (the 1990s). And it holds up amazingly well some 56 yrs. after its release.
11 of the 12 jurors initially vote for conviction, each for their own straightforward reasons. The holdout is Juror #8, played by Henry Fonda (who also co-produced this film). As Fonda persuades the weary jurors to re-examine the evidence, we also learn their back stories. Juror #3 (Lee J. Cobb), a bully of a man, has estranged himself from his own son. Juror #7 (Jack Warden) has a mistrust of non-Americans; as does #6 (Edward Binns). Juror #4 (E.G. Marshall) advocates cool, deductive reasoning for his stance. Juror #5 (Jack Klugman) hopes that his guilty vote will distance himself from his past (one similar to the defendant).
Jurors #10 (a grouchy Ed Begley) & #11 (George Voskovec), so certain of the 'Law', assume that if the young man was arrested, then he must be guilty. Juror #12 (Robert Webber) just thinks the young man is guilty. And Jurors #1, #2, & #9 (Martin Balsam, John Feidler, Joseph Sweeney) just go with the flow of things, don't want to make waves, & want outta there in a timely manner. The languorous and excruciatingly hot day draggggs into an even hotter evening as Henry Fonda chips & chips & chips away at the decidedly guilty verdict, insisting that his fellow 11 jurors bear in mind those 2 powerful words: "reasonable doubt." Various jurors start to change their minds. But all 12 must be in complete agreement. And drama ensues as the rain starts to fall & tensions grow even higher.
'12 Angry Men' goes to show how effective, powerful, & superb a movie can be - even when it was made for next to nothing. Furthermore, this is a movie where tension comes, not from action, but from personality conflicts, stretches of dialogue, looks, & other body languages. There is so much nuance to every little thing that these characters say & do that effects the outcome. Sidney Lumet is a brilliant director of actors. And boy oh boy did he do a great job with this lot of 12. Henry Fonda exudes such a calm, cool presence as the man who remains unflustered in trying to get his fellow jurors to consider a 'not guilty' verdict.
Lee J. Cobb is terrifying as Juror #3; a man with so much anger pent up inside that you wonder how he deals with people on an everyday basis. And yet, he finally shows his humanity in a late, heartbreaking burst of dialogue. Martin Balsam holds his own as Juror #1, trying to keep matters flowing. Jack Warden is a hoot as Juror #7 with his silly hat & coat. And Joseph Sweeney is fantastic as Juror #9, the 1st man to see what Henry Fonda is getting at and switch his vote to 'not guilty'.
Everyone is great. I just choose to mention that cluster. The direction is succinct. The writing is superb. Everything makes sense. Everything gets you thinking. The pacing of the 92 min. film is bang on. The atmosphere (a claustrophobic room with rain pouring outside) is wonderful. I could go on. '12 Angry men' is one of the best films of its year. I saw it in high school (the 1990s). And it holds up amazingly well some 56 yrs. after its release.