A brilliant and humane film.

Rating: 10/10 (25 January 1999)

I am writing to express disagreement with the previous commentator who suggested that the film casts doubt on the jury system. The jury system is democratic, in that it allows the defendant to put their case before twelve ordinary members of the public and not an arbitrary, draconian body.
Henry Fonda's character demonstrates that through the use of reason and not reaction, a jury can uphold humane values. All of the indifference, contempt and inflexibility is swept away by the patient and thoughtful reasoning of Fonda. The film is cinematically superb and has a timeless and beautiful human message that we must never lose sight of.