Quality work all around.

Rating: 7/10 (21 February 2012)

What is there to be said that hasn't already been said? It's earned it's status as a classic for a reason. While I wouldn't go so far as to call it one of the greatest of all time, it is a vastly entertaining take on a brilliant premise that has been used throughout the decades sense. The dialogue is sharp, the character turns are believable and interesting and the whole thing flows along at a swift pace. When it was over I couldn't believe that so much time had gone by. I'm always fascinated by films that take place entirely in one location (or almost entirely) and this was one of the early precedents for the kind of greatness one can accomplish when that is utilized properly.
The ominous surroundings like the heat and the storm add nice bits of tension to the rising tempers of the men in the room and the confrontations between the soft Henry Fonda and the explosive Lee J. Cobb were intense. Sidney Lumet is a man who earned his reputation as an "actor's director" and made his career out of mostly setting up the stage and aiding his actors in doing what they do best, but I think his stylistic choices here deserve to be commended. The way that he slowly brings the camera down over the course of the film, bringing us more intimately into the heart of this room, it adds that sense of claustrophobia that makes the tension even more gripping as we proceed into the later stages of it all.
Practically everyone in the cast shines at one point or another, my favorites being the commanding Fonda who is able to be the voice of reason without being annoying, the pensive E.G. Marshall, the racist and volatile Ed Begley and the wise, determined Joseph Sweeney. The film had plenty of great twists, like the knife reveal, but my favorite scene had to be Begley going off on his offensive monologue while one-by-one the jurors turned away from him until he realized that his ignorance had caused him to lose any voice he once had; a powerfully real moment. I also loved the added touch of putting Fonda in an all white suit while everyone else was in shades of black or grey.