Review of 12 Angry Men (1957) by Teryl O — 02 May 2012

Sidney Lumet's classic courtroom drama is based upon a very simple premise; a jury is sent to deliberate on a capital murder case and one lone juror stands alone against the other eleven arguing that there is reasonable doubt.

Virtually the entire film takes place in the same room and the characters are a deliberate cross section of different personalities from all walks of life. They even remain unnamed for the length of the film.

It's basically a tribute to the American justice system and democracy in general; imagine a more high brow version of Frank Capra without the sentimentality. Slightly reminiscent of Rashomon, it exposes the preconceptions and prejudices behind the attitudes of some of the jurors and their refusal to accept the possibility of a juvenile delinquent's innocence and is fascinatingly told as a kind of detective story in reverse, Fonda gradually dismantling the prosecution's case piece by piece.

The character's are all really well written, the dialogue taut and the director's skill is consummate as he creates tension and drama without ever leaving the jury room. It's very stagey and occasionally reminded me of a game of musical chairs for that reason and it may be a little subdued for younger tastes used to fast cuts and gratuitous action, but for me this is still the best courtroom drama ever made.