Comment on '12 Angry Men'

Rating: 9/10 (24 July 2006)

As an exciting analysis of character this film could hardly be bettered. From the bored judge through the scared teenager to the twelve jurors, there is no chink of characterisation which is missing. We know nothing which is normally known, someone's name, their occupation, what their interests are, and so on. But each person in the room is required to open himself up to the gaze of the other eleven; we have prejudice, contempt, alienation, cooperation, cogent analysis of circumstance, violent emotion, vacillation and even humour despite the looming death penalty. This is the king of character analysis films and the screenwriter Reginald Rose is a genius.