For this Retro Review, we go way back to the age of black and white movies. I first saw this movie my senior year of high school. My AP Calculus teacher didn’t feel like teaching one day, so she played this movie for us (and no, she didn’t help much with my calculus knowledge.)
12 Angry Men is a judicial process movie that is unlike most of the rest of the genre. The entire movie takes place in an evening, after the trial is over. This one is all about the jury deliberation. A young man is on trial for the supposed murder of his father. A guilty verdict carries the sentence of death. All but one juror is willing to send the kid to the chair when they walk in to the jury room. The one lone stand out thinks there should be some discussion. This movie follows that discussion, as they work their way through the testimony that was given. Remember, they don’t have to think the kid is innocent, just that there is reasonable doubt to the prosecution’s case.
The cast does a good job. Henry Fonda plays the part of an architect, and is the lone person arguing for that reasonable doubt…at first. The rest of the cast is made up of people who you just know you have seen in other movies, but you’re not sure where.
One of the most interesting parts of this movie, and the biggest reason it is a favorite of mine, is seeing each juror work through their prejudices and preconceived notions to see the holes in the case.
As they say, the devil is in the details.
