In theory a courtroom drama is a simple film production: rent an old looking room, add

some skilled actors, and write dialogue. Instead, 12 Angry Men is a masterclass in the art of

argumentation, dramatic dialogue, and emotive cinematography. In it the jurors must come to

unanimous consensus regarding a first degree murder trial, where the accused will be subject to

the death penalty if he is found guitly of murdering his abusive father. The film opens with a “fly

on the wall” style shot of the day’s legal proceedings and the foot traffic of men in suits. The

camera then meanders into room 228 and focuses on the racially-ambiguous, petrified face of the

18 year old boy who is the defendant in the case. The expression on the boy’s face serves to draw

empathy out of the audience and cause them to side with an acquittal.

The jury room is a cornucopia of peculiar characters, most of them balding, smoking

cigarettes and wearing ties. A preliminary vote is held with all but one juror (juror no.8) raising

their hand in favor of a guilty verdict. Then through an arduous and often acrimonious process of

persuasion juror no.8 convinces the rest of the jurors that there is enough reasonable doubt in the

case for a not-guilty verdict.

The film starring Henry Fonda as juror no.8 and directed by Sidney Lumet did not fare

well in a late fifties box office driven by war films, romances, and big budget technicolor

productions. The fifties also brought on a general disapproval of capital punishment, as many

european nations brought the practice to an end and the U.N indirectly argued for its end.

Regardless, 12 Angry Men is still a technically exceptional film and makes excellent use of close

ups, especially with regard to faces, allowing the audience to read into each juror’s level of
conviction. An excellent example of this occurs during a scene where the jurors are voting

verbally and each juror’s hesitations and mannerisms are put on display with a close up.

Nevertheless, a couple scenes in the jury's deliberation stood out as excellent

representations of the ethical dilemma of a death sentence. One of such scenes is a rebuttal of

circumstantial evidence where a juror claims that the murder weapon (a switch blade) used was

unique and a shop keeper is quoted as to having sold it to a boy. Juror no.8 promptly produces an

identical weapon and sticks into the table beside the one the suspect supposedly used to muder

his father. Another incredulous juror sums it up best by murmuring “That’s the same knife!”

Sidney Lumet provides the audience with a thought provoking idea; a knife that had already

taken one innocent life, nearly took another.

Ebert, R. (n.d.). 12 Angry Men movie review & film summary (1957): Roger Ebert.

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