12 Angry Men
12 Angry Men is about as close to perfection as a film can get.
This is a premise which doesn’t instantly stick out to you. 12 jurors making a decision on whether one man is guilty or not, unfortunately doesn’t sound very intriguing. But you have to give this film a try.
After the opening 5 minutes or so, you enter the jury room, which is where you stay for the rest of the 90 minutes.
Now I don’t know if it’s the acting, the direction, the script - but something propelled this film into undeniable perfection in my eyes.
All 12 jurors are so different, each their own character, each enjoyable to watch. And while Henry Fonda’s Juror 8 takes the cake for the prize performance, everyone does their own part in keeping this story so exciting. Juror 9 and Juror 3 would definitely be some of my favourites, both playing excellent characters, with incredibly gripping scenes.
Sidney Lumet is a director who I’ve not seen anything of, aside from this, but now I just want to watch his entire filmography. To create a film which has no right in being so engrossing, it creates a sense of wonder in what else he could achieve.
For me, it’s the screenplay that does it. Arguably the greatest screenplay in cinematic history. It’s the glue of this masterpiece. It’s witty, compelling, downright genius. It’s the reason the story of Juror 8’s gradual convincing of 11 other jurors in deciding a young man is not guilty, became the unbelievable film it is.
12 Angry Men is an instance where I can indeed say, it was a perfect film.