A Portrait Of Humanity

Rating: 9/10 (8 March 2017)

When rating the greatest films of all-time, "12 Angry Men" usually ends up close to the top of that list. This is for good reason, as the lasting impact of this masterpiece will forever be its portrayal of humanity in all its various guises.
For a basic plot summary, "12 Angry Men" picks up after the trial of a young man charged with killing his father. Eleven jurors are ready to convict the boy and call it a day, but one man (played by Henry Fonda) has a reasonable doubt about the case and refuses to make the vote unanimous. When the jurors get to discussing the case, "Fonda" finds that he may have more supporters than he originally thought as he lays out his doubts.
Set basically in one locale (the juror deliberation room), director Sidney Lumet puts on a master class of introducing the principle actors and slowly easing viewers into their various quirks. This portrait of humanity is so powerful that it carries all 90 minutes of run-time.
For a few examples...
-A couple of jurors are downright intimidated by the tougher-talking members.
-One juror is sick and wants to get out of the heat, while another has tickets to a baseball game "burning a hole in his pocket" and thus wants to hurry along the proceedings.
-Yet another juror is prejudiced against young people and wants to see them all in "the chair".
Only Fonda is tough enough (in a performance every bit as courageous as, say, the one given by Gregory Peck in "To Kill A Mockingbird) and honest enough to stand up to his peers and not back down.
It certainly helps that the acting in the movie is incredible. Nearly every juror is a great character actor and they all bring something a little different and unique to their respective roles. With names like Fiedler, Cobb, Klugman, Warden, and Begley (to name just a few), this is a true tour-de-force cast.
Overall, "12 Angry Men" deserves its place among the film classics. Not too many other flicks can match its honest portrayal of the human condition--warts, bright spots, and everything in between.