A perfect classic!

Rating: 10/10 (10 September 2015)

12 Angry Men is a deeply engrossing crime drama shot almost entirely in a claustrophobic utilitarian jury room which shows how one person with a conscience and critical thinking ability can make a difference to this society while also criticises how we are often biased by prejudice, bigotry, and conceit in making our decisions. This powerful film is a deep examination of human psychology which explains how we often judge an incident based on our own perceptual biases, close mindedness and own experience rather than the facts produced from that incident.
A Hispanic teenage boy, born and raised in a slum, was accused of killing his father and was in trial. There were two concrete pieces of evidences which were enough to put the boy in the electric chair. But the final decision has to come from the juries and so they retired to the jury room after the judge asked them to come up with their verdict. It looked like an open and shut case until one juror (juror 8) vetoed and wanted to go through the facts again. Eleven members of the jury did not think otherwise and tried to convince him that he was wrong. Juror 8 did not have any concrete proof of otherwise but he raised his concern about the authenticity of the facts and incidents that has been produced during the case. Slowly, through his power of logic, patience and negotiation, he inspired the other juries to look into the facts from a fresh and different perspective. In fact he leaded them with some insights which seemed impossible to comprehend to the others. Inspired by his insights some of them started to delve into the facts, came out of their stereotypical mentalities, started to ask the right questions and finally came out with some startling perspectives which made their own earlier statements doubtful.
The colour and pace of this black & white film came from the cohesive storyline and the arguments and counter arguments presented by the juries. This is a drama where the characters flourished in their respective roles to their fullest extent and likewise this is a thriller where the excitement came through sharp arguments.
The film never shows whether the accused is guilty or innocent, neither does it draw its curtains on finding the murderer. It does not show any arguments between lawyers, it does not even give away the names of all the juries. Even though the plot is centred around a murder, the concept is centred around unravelling the psychology of human decision making. Perhaps, these are the reasons why this film is so different from any other court room dramas I have ever seen. A perfect classic!