Exceptional

Rating: 8/10 (5 October 2000)

WARNING: REVIEW CONTAINS MILD SPOILERS
The notion of a ninety-five minute movie featuring twelve middle-aged men in real-time, almost exclusively on a single set, isn't one that sounds promising. Yet 12 Angry Men does exactly that, and works as a masterclass in film drama.
There are some nice subliminal moments, such as Rudy Bond as the bored judge, obviously resigned to what seems a cut and dried case. Dialogue and characterisation is well noted, despite occasional leaning in the latter stages towards platitudes ("Wherever you run into it, blind prejudice always obscures the truth" says Fonda commendably, but embarrassingly). Direction is where the film truly excels, though, with Sidney Lumet's camera waltzing constantly around the set, though never so that it's showy. A nice trick that I wasn't aware of was his gradual moving in of the set walls as the film goes on.
For notable moments, it's interesting that the "good" juror from step one, Henry Fonda, leaves the room wearing a white coat, and passes the dark coat to the "bad" juror, played by Lee J. Cobb. I'm not suggesting this was a religious reference, but it is nicely symbolic. Also interesting is the step count Fonda does when he assumes the role of the elderly witness. While it's timed at "41 seconds exactly", in actual fact it all takes place 10 seconds quicker.
There are perhaps times when character flaws are presented too readily, or too obviously, and the "vote count" is increased with unnecessary regularity, dissipating the tension somewhat. As the film moves on, Fonda's inevitable moral victory becomes more obvious, though this is a minor flaw and detracts little. The sweat, then the rain, and the excellent black and white cinematography all go towards making this a very special achievement. A mainstream film, though not a dumb one, cruelly overlooked by the Academy, who nominated it three times, but failed to give it a single Oscar.
Versions of the film that wouldn't have worked:
TWO ANGRY MEN: Henry Fonda tries to convince one other man that the kid is innocent. Only lasts ten minutes.
TWELVE MODERATELY ANGRY, BUT NOT ESPECIALLY HEATED MEN: Twelve blokes sit around and calmly discuss the issues, while being polite and getting to know their feminine sides.
THE TWIST ENDING: Henry Fonda turns round and says "I was only kidding, I think he's guilty as Hell really - let him fry!"

Twelve Angry Men is a textbook example of good filmmaking, and an exceptionally good movie. 8/10.