96 Minutes of Pure Debate

Rating: 10/10 (21 February 2017)

Sidney Lumet has honestly outdone himself with this experimental film. To risk filming the vast majority of a movie in a single jury room is unprecedented. Henry Fonda, the lead actor in this film, dons the screen as the seemingly innocent, straight laced man in his 30s or 40s that just can't seem to find an accusatory bone in his body. After seemingly obvious evidence of a murder is presented to him, he is not too quick to jump the gun.
It was strange, albeit refreshing to see Fonda display the 8th juror with such suave when the last film I had seen him in was Once Upon A Time In the West, where he plays a very convincing antagonist. The spark of a lively debate between a myriad of different points of view and opinions brought life to the screen throughout, which seemed to contradict the fact that all 12 of these men never left the jury room.
I recommend this film to anyone who is a fan of well-written dialogue and certainly recommend you put the English subtitles on so that you can take in its full effect. This film is a perfect 10/10 from me without a doubt!