An example of what Hollywood today has lost

Rating: 10/10 (27 April 2019)

12 Angry Men stands as one of the greatest films ever made, and a testament to the brilliant storytelling of Sidney Lumet, and performances of Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb in particular.
This film stands to show that action sequences, special effects and intricate mysteries are not necessary to tell the perfect story. Taking place within a room and leaning entirely on its beautifully-written dialogue and wonderfully-portrayed characters, 12 Angry Men still manages to capture attention and imagination from start to finish.
Lumet utilises long, perfectly-choreographed shots that sustain the tension and aggravation that builds between the twelve jurors over the course of the film. Every movement has significance, and every drop of sweat is symbolic. This film was planned to the finest detail.
The dialogue is pure brilliance, and the unravelling of the plot is perfectly paced. Lumet manages to open the film on a seemingly certain guilty verdict, even from the audience's perspective, and build a case through logic and reason that completely sways not only the twelve jurors, but the audience within the space of the film.
The performances of Fonda and Cobb in particular are excellent. Every one of the twelve leads had perfected their characterisations, to the point that we immediately liked the likable characters and disliked the antagonists. Fonda is typically brilliant, standing as the one defiant juror, while Cobb's energy is fantastic in a difficult role.
It is no wonder that this film has been parodied and referenced through the last fifty years of Hollywood's history. In fact, it has remained such a part of popular culture that almost any film fan would recognise the film immediately without having ever heard of it before. Its impact on film over the past half-century has been undeniable.
12 Angry Men is the epitome of minimalist storytelling and certainly a peak of filmmaking. This is an example of the plot- and character-based film working to perfection in a Hollywood industry that so frequently gets these films exactly wrong.