12 Angry Men Review

Rating: 8/10 (28 March 2020)

I do love these types of movies. You have one location and a bunch of actors that have to play off one and another to sell the story and their performances. This is when you can tell whether you're a great actor or just a good actor. It helps that the script was incredibly well written too. This film captives the audience from the very beginning and doesn't let you go until it's over.
The tension of the characters draws the audience in from the start. We imagine that the case is open and shut, 11 me saying guilty and 1 not. We feel the discomfort of Henry Fonda as the other characters belittle and mock how he can see any reasonable doubt in the case. But we also share his victories and the enthusiasm as he proceeds to refute or add doubt to the arguments for guilty and are captivated and draw in as other jurors begin to see doubt in the proceedings.
Henry Fonda knocks it out of the park with his performance in this film. You can feel his characters discomfort as the others belittle and mock how he can believe this young man could be innocent. You feel for him. You also share in his victories as he slowly casts doubt in each of the jurors' minds. For me, Henry Fonda should have at a bare minimum been nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor, and although it would have been a tough call, he should have won it too. Because in my opinion, his performance was better than Alec Guinness performance in The Bridge on the River Kwai.
I just wished they made films like this today.