Movie #38: 12 Angry Men. Or really, justice as it should be.

Title: 12 Angry Men

Starring: Henry Fonda and 11 others

Directed by: Sidney Lumet

Number on the AFI List: 87 (cause they're CRAZY)

Year: 1957

For a movie that only ever names two characters (at the end) and takes place primarily in one room (the jury deliberation room), this movie is SO well done. The director and cinematographer did a fantastic job keeping the movie interesting with the different shots, many of them so jarring and uncomfortable it made me claustrophobic just watching. The heat in the room was palpable, not only in temperature but also between the actors. The writer did a great job writing moments of intensity followed by moments of ease, creating an ebb and flow that kept the film entertaining and yet intense. Henry Fonda, as Juror #8, does a fantastic job keeping the other men on track, but the movie is a great example of a true ensemble performance. 

The crime: a juvenile minority has been accused of stabbing and killing his father. Not to give anything away, each of the men has to overcome their prejudices and assumptions to come to a more accurate verdict. Some of the actors have an easier time overcoming this than others. Each of the men's walls are so beautifully built up and then torn down until the climactic conclusion. I only hope and pray that all citizens take their responsibility of jurors as serious as these men did, especially when someone's life is on the line. 

"It's always difficult to keep personal prejudice out of a thing like this. And wherever you run into it, prejudice always obscures the truth. I don't really know what the truth is. I don't suppose anybody will ever really know. Nine of us now seem to feel that the defendant is innocent, but we're just gambling on probabilities - we may be wrong. We may be trying to let a guilty man go free, I don't know. Nobody really can. But 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."

Favorite moment: Hard to choose, the movie doesn't have scenes as much as continuous moments, more like a play than a film. However, when Juror #9 speaks and the camera does an up close shot of his face...I found that fascinating. And he has some pretty awesome speeches, too.

Will I Watch it Again: Yes!