Effective twist on typical court room dankness.

Rating: Null/10 (4 December 2000)

When we think of when a movie is set in a courthouse it is either A Few Good Men or the latest John Grisham movie via book. 12 angry men is set in the deliberations room after a trial has taken place and focuses on what matters. The 12 men who will decide this boy's fate. All but one is ready to convict, reasons ranging from their own child's disobedience to wanting to catch a baseball game. This movie is very effective at creating memorable characters. Having seen this movie several years ago and just recently reviewing it, I could distinctly remember all 12 jurors and their personalities. One can't help, after viewing the film, at how original and brilliant it was for its time. More recent courtroom dramas are all about an obvious unfair trial as in a black man on trial for something NO jury would convict him for outside the Deep South. This movie has one main set, which is the deliberations room and rarely strays from it. The long shots of what seems like 5 or 6 minutes happen regularly in the movie giving you the feeling that you are there. What draws me to this movie is that it is about fact and remaining objective. It doesn't have anything to do with prejudice on account of ethnicity, creed, or color. It deals with a child and whether or not he should be put to death. Movies don't need a big budget, fancy sets, or Will Smith to be great. Clever dialog and memorable characters work much better.