Frenchy’s Fracas

General Info
Title: 12 Angry Men ||
Year: 1957

In Short
A court hearing in New York during the 50s is in its most important phase: closing arguments from both parties have been heard and now the jury has to decide over the fate of the accused.
The crime: murder in the first degree; the punishment: the death penalty; the accused: a teenage boy from the bad part of town.
It’s an open and shut case: the boy is as guilty as hell, but is he? That’s for the jury to decide in a small closed off room in the middle of a heatwave, twelve men decide.

The Movie
Visuals
It’s a Classic Black and White movie; these movies have their own visual aesthetic. That combined with tight shots, great lighting and almost fishbowl close-ups give the movie a great sense of atmosphere.
I must mention another important part of movie: the sound and the movie score are minimalist in setup. Love it!
Originally written as a television play, you almost get this sense of claustrophobia, because almost 98 per cent of the movie happens in that one room.

Plot
The genre of courtroom drama is worked out to the max: what will the jury decide?
The difference is that in this movie we actually see twelve jury members debate to reach a verdict with very dire consequences. We see twelve people talk about another person’s actions and wether or not this will lead to a death sentence.
The plot isn’t about the accused, it’s about those twelve men, that’s what’s interesting. We get to see the interaction between these men and how they reach their decision.
Not wanting to give away a lot about the story: just one man believes that the accused, ehrm.. the boy could be innocent.
Just one man believes that there is reasonable doubt, just that. He’s not like a great hero and defender of the downtrodden, he just doesn’t accept that anybody can be 100 per cent sure of the boy’s guilt. Eleven men disagree and that’s where the Drama starts..

Cast
Please, Henry Fonda dominated the whole movie: the lone and highly principled guy with those piercing eyes that made him such a compelling presence in most of his movies.
If you could give an honorary Oscar for All Time Best Supporting Cast then this would be the right occasion. A very young Jack Klugman as the guy who escaped the slums, the brilliant Joseph Sweeney as the elder and bewildered statesman, and the unforgettable and excellent Lee J. Cobb as the frustrated and annoying father who misses his son.

Conclusion
I was lucky to get the chance to see this movie on a large screen in a cinema this week; this movie is in my Top Three Favorite Movies of All Friggin’ Time.
Seriously, I just love the art that’s put into the film: visuals, sound, plot and cast are all incredibly effective in bringing across the pressure cooker atmosphere in which people are put in and how these people have to confront each other over the choice they have to make.
I have seen quite a lot of movies, but there aren’t many that can deliver so much tension, drama and pause for thought. Me like, me love!

Share This