Masterful Filmmaking

Rating: 9/10 (5 September 2016)

Being a film buff myself, I'd like to think I know good movies when I see them. With 12 Angry Men, all it took was a few scenes and I knew this was one of the great ones. Not only was this movie important and influential, it's also easily re-watchable. I've seen it three times now and each time I pick up on new tidbits of information and dialogue that I missed the time before. I would imagine it's not easy directing an ensemble of 12 in one small room, but Sidney Lumet managed to do it, and do it very well.
I often find crime-drama's to be my favorite genre of movies in large part because of the suspenseful aspects of that particular storytelling. While 12 Angry Men is far from a prototypical crime drama, it's certainly suspenseful. What begins as one man's doubts against 11 other men's desire to leave the courthouse as fast as possible, ends with a powerful message of prejudices and class issues. The nice thing about this particular criminal case is that at first listen, it's hard to argue with what some of the men are saying. There's definitely a grey area to this particular case, and that proves to help the development of the suspense and third-act revelations.
Perhaps even more important than the simple theme of class issues is the idea of communication, and how far a little talking can take you. As Henry Fonda nicely put it "we have a reasonable doubt, and that's something that's very valuable in our system. No jury can declare a man guilty unless it's sure." All of these men were under difficult conditions, considering the small room and blistering heat, but all of them also needed to understand that communicating with each other was the only way they were going to get through the night. I loved the way Lumet gracefully gave every one of the actor's their time to shine. Although Fonda was the clear star, and likely had the most lines, here, every single one of them brought their A-game.
The film also points out how easy it is to involve your own personal prejudices into cases like this. Perhaps even to some viewers it may be hard to against the grain of 11 other "angry men" and vote not guilty, but sometimes it takes more than just sitting around and waiting for someone else to step up. Sometimes you have to be the one to point out the questionable things in whatever job field or discussion you are in. Communication can be a difficult thing, but if you're willing to listen to others share their opinion, you should be willing to talk as well. But I do know one thing that can't be disputed, the greatness that is Sidney Lumet's 12 Angry Men.
93/100