The Fabulous Fifties:

"This man has been standing alone against us. It's not easy to stand alone against the ridicule of others. So he gambled for support - and I gave it to him"

Review: 12 Angry Men

An Augustus Review of 8.5/10

For the Fabulous Fifties week, I will review the movie 12 Angry Men, where twelve jurors have to decide the fate of a young boy but only one believes his innocence. 

The movie begins with the trial of a young Puerto Rican boy who was accused of knifing his father to death. The twelve jurors listening to the case are all men from different backgrounds and different life styles. The trial ends and the men retire to the jury room where they have to come up with a decision. If the boy is proven innocent without a reasonable doubt, he will be free. If not, the jurors will have condemned the boy to death. 

As soon as the men meet in the room, they quickly glance over the evidence. They shortly discuss the trial and decide to have a vote. Eleven men voted the boy guilty. They turn to the last man, Juror #8 (Henry Fonda), and look at him surprisingly. They ask him what is he waiting for and to raise his hand. The juror looks back at the men and responds. The boy is not guilty.

The juror explains that to him, the evidence doesn’t make sense. He thinks that they should all go over the entire trial and carefully form a verdict. They are playing with a boy’s life, they can’t rush the details. His vote angers the other jurors especially Juror #10 and Juror #7 whom both believe the discussion is a waste of time.

The men begin to look over the evidence again and many become frustrated. After each piece of evidence is looked over, they have another vote. Slowly, some jurors begin to see the boy’s innocence and vote that he is not guilty. Some of the jurors, like Juror #10, can’t get over past prejudices to realistically consider that he is innocent. 

As the deliberation continues, the men are having even more difficulty coming to a unanimous vote.  More and more of the jurors are switching opinions. The few men who are left undecided hold the most difficult answer: guilty or not guilty?

12 Angry Men is an excellent movie in two regards: developing plot and developing characters. The entire movie focuses on the evidence given in thorough detail. The explanations given by the jurors are realistic and make a lot of sense. 

This movie is regarded as a classic. It has been given many titles such as 42^nd most inspiring film, 87^th best film in 100 years and Juror #8 was 28^th in the 50 best heroes of the 20^th century. The movie has received 100% positive votes on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Overall, this movie is very inspiring and thought-provoking. If you enjoy courtroom dramas or thorough explanation of scenes in a movie, 12 Angry Men is definitely the movie to watch!

- Augustus