Movie Review: 12 Angry Men(1957)

The Movie "12 angry men" is a 1957 classic starring an all male cast including henry fonda, e g marshall, joseph sweeney etc.

WARNING: Spoilers below!!!

The movie, which goes by the tagline "Life Is In Their Hands -- Death Is On Their Minds!",
is about 12 jurors who have to decide if a young boy of 18 is guilty of murder or not. The boy is charged with murdering his father and a guilty verdict would send him to the electric chair.

The movie begins with the 12 men on the jury leaving the court room and moving to the jury room to decide on the verdict. It starts with 11 people in favour of guilty and one (juror # 8 played by henry fonda) in favour of not guilty. The case seems simple. But the plot unravels more.

The discussions begin. Each character is portrayed quite brilliantly and the actors have done a marvelous job. Indeed, it is very difficult to find acting of this calibre in today's cinema.

The discussions proceed to and fro as the jurors fluctuate from their decisions. Some of the scenarios put up are worth any discussion in the way cases are handled.

One dialogue which stood out for me was, when during the break of discussions, juror #6 tells #8 in the restroom
"Imagine you manage to convince all of us that the boy is not guilty, and it really turned out that the kid knifed his dad. What would happen?"

Personal aspirations, prejudices, talks about baseball games, patience, anger are a few things one would encounter in the movie.

For more... watch the movie...

All in all, this 96 minute movie makes you want more. A brilliant juryroom drama which probes into people psychologies as well...