12 Angry Men

Great film. Highly recommended. Reminded me of my jury experience last year, though our discussion was much more civil and our jury was a bit more diverse. But the movie did a great job of pointing out what an amazing process the whole thing is. I loved that we learned so much about each man, and I didn’t realize until the end what we didn’t learn about them. Made the movie even better. It was astounding how many conclusions we could draw about 12 different characters in just 96 minutes. Fonda was terrific, even though his character at times was almost a little too idealistic to believe at times. I loved how the camera got tighter and tighter as the film progressed, increasing the tension and sense of claustrophobia that one feels after a full day in the jury room. Lee J. Cobb’s performance as the angry and tortured Juror #3 was terrific, making him a source of both enmity and pity. Interesting fact: Jack Klugman is the only juror who is still alive. The director of the film, Sidney Lumet, is still alive as well (And it’s pronounced Luh-met, not Lue-may.) I give this one a B+. See this movie if you haven’t already. Barring a last minute comeback, looks like Princess Bride will be next.