12 Angry Men

Since my stint in the Hennepin County Courthouse this month as a jury member, I have been thinking about this movie.  I first saw it back in high school.  We had read the play in English class, and our teacher decided to let us watch the movie.  The movie is a wonderful piece of inspirational manipulation.  It makes the viewer proud of the American justice system, but alarmed by the notion that a guilty man could get off without the right kind of evidence.

The story focuses on 12 men who are deliberating on a murder trial.  As the jury moves into the deliberation room, 11 of the men on the jury believe the defendant to be guilty, while one man questions that: juror number 8 (Henry Fonda).  Henry Fonda's character is costumed to look like an angelic beacon of equal justice under the law.  He is dressed in white, and while many of the other jurors are hardened and bitter, he is calm and reasoned.  The film takes on a great deal of substance as the deliberation goes on.  As juror number 8 makes his case to the other 11 jurors, he slowly begins to turn the tide in the room.  A few of the jurors jump to his side very quickly.  As his argument makes more sense, other jurors follow suit.  When the count stands at 9-3, it is fascinating to watch what motivates the final 3 jurors to still feel that a guilty verdict is in order.  One of them is motivated almost totally by racism.  One of them is motivated by the cold facts of the case.  He even admits that juror number 8 has made some great points.  However, since one of the pieces of evidence is an eye witness of the murder, he remains convinced of the young man's guilt.  The third man is the most complex.  He is motivated by anger, and the more the plot goes on, the more sympathetic and the more sad he becomes.

The movie is a masterful work of dialogue.  It basically only has one setting, so the strength of the dialogue and the acting has to carry the film.  It does.  Every actor in the film is stunning, the way the director builds the tension is very effective.  It does get a tad didactic, but I would imagine that when the movie came out, it was probably somewhat avant garde.  This is not a cookie cutter movie with a Hollywood ending, but a movie mean to challenge the viewer and to make them think a second time.  It is a classic, and for good reason.