Journal Entry #14

12 Angry Men

Director: Sidney Lumet

Writer: Reginald Rose

Actors: Henry Fonda, Lee J Cobb

Release Date: 1957

96min

A boy is convicted of killing his father, 11 men are sure he is guilty but one begs to differ.  

Why are the men so convinced that the boy is guilty?

The men are so convinced that the boy is guilty because Lumet establishes this classic juror background that we are all aware of as a society. Jurors are randomly picked citizens to witness a trial and make a decision upon that. Each of these 12 men are assumingly hardworking, blue collars except for white collar Fonda who is the only one who refuses to take the easy way out. They are all tired, they have families and want to go home to relax after a long day at work. That is one reason they simply just want to accuse him guilty because it’s the choice that was presented most strongly in their eyes because of the testimony of the two witnesses. Secondly teenagers in that day and age were always perceived as irritating scoundrels, especially if the boy is knowingly deprived.

Does the one setting inhibit the power of the film?

The setting is a boardroom with a long table, darkly lit, with a tired fan and doors shut, windows closed. The film is not inhibited by this small room in which the men are meant to deliberate on whether they are going to decide that the boy is innocent or guilty, having a major impact on his life. The stress in which one holds that decision of another’s human beings is strengthened by the tight knit quality of that room. The heat due to the broken fan exaggerates tempers and enhances the films main quality of suspense in whether the men are going to blow up, have 180 changes in opinion etc…