Great Movie

Rating: 9/10 (15 March 2005)

Ostensibly, 12 Angry Men is a chamber piece about twelve motley jurors who are stuck with deciding the guilt or innocence of an eighteen-year-old kid who is charged with the murder of his father. It's actually more than just that, though. It's an examination into the unknowability of the truth, and a character film that cross-examines the lives of men from all walks of life.
When the film begins, the men take a preliminary vote. The results show that there are eleven men who think he is very obviously guilty, and only one man (Peter Fonda) who thinks that there is a reasonable doubt of his guilt. Of course, most of the other men think he's crazy for even suggesting innocence--half of them are already out the door and ready to send the boy to the chair.
"How do you know?" Fonda is consistently asked.
His response is the same every time. "I don't know anything, I'm just saying we should ask some questions, that's all." The story unfolds magnificently and cleverly, a smorgasbord of personalities clashing and interacting with each other--all within the confines of a stiflingly hot sixteen by twenty-four foot jury room.
The performances in this film are amazing. Each juror comes across as a man who has his own reasons for deciding the guilt or innocence of the alleged murderer, and the method with which each man ultimately decides are all unique to his person.
12 Angry Men comes across as a bit of a tribute to the American justice system as well. Careful not to claim perfection for it, director Sidney Lumet simply portrays it as the best system we have available.
"What if you convince us all and we set a murderer free?" one of the jurors asks Fonda. Fonda doesn't answer.
A friend noted that she felt that the motivations for some of the juror's final conclusions came on a little strong, most notably in the case of the biggest advocate of the accused's guilt, who is played by Lee J. Cobb. Cobb seems to have some inner demons with his son, who he reveals he hasn't spoken to in years, and it's clear that at least several of the jurors begin to suspect Cobb's feelings aren't due to the facts but are the result of personal issues towards youth as a whole. I disagree with my friend. When critiquing a film, it's certainly important to gauge your feelings on the subtleties brought forth by it--in this particular scenario though, I feel that the complaint is a reach. I never found the scenarios that were brought forth by any of the characters was too heavy-handed or polemic. Quite the opposite--I viewed the story as the simple unfolding of a murder case that was to be decided by twelve very different individuals, each with his own background and story to contribute.
12 Angry Men is a straight-forward and fascinating story that is well-directed, well-acted, and makes a valuable point. I can easily add this to the list of my favorite films.