Brilliant

Rating: 9/10 (13 July 2013)

A jury of 12 men discuss their verdict on a murder case. Amidst the heat and the confined room they are locked in, they unravel the case piece by piece only to discover all the clues which they originally missed.
Each of the characters has a unique personality and the beauty of the movie is that the characters are getting to know each other (and themselves) at the same time as the audience is.
The movie begins with the end of a murder trial and the jury are dismissed to discuss their verdict. An initial show of hands sets the votes at 11:1 in favour of Guilty. Juror 8 (Henry Fonda) feels the case needs some discussion and is not prepared to pass judgement on another man's life (the defendant is sentenced to death if found guilty) before delving in a little deeper.
One by one, the other 11 men begin to see the errors of their initial knee-jerk reaction and the balance of votes gradually starts to tip. As the room becomes more divided, each of the juror's personalities shine through, building to a tense climax.
A must see movie and a deserved place in the top 10 of the IMDb top 250 list!