Title: 12 Angry Men
Producer: Sidney Lumet
Starring: Henry Fonda.
Genre: Drama, crime.
Review by: Chantelle, LCA Intern for Library HQ
Synopsis: Twelve men are picked to be the jurors tasked with determining whether or not an eighteen year old Puerto Rican boy is guilty of stabbing his own father.
Eleven men see one guilty sleazy boy. One doesn’t.
The deliberation must agree on their verdict so now they are all forced to sit down and lay out the facts as they’ve seen them. The fate of the boy now lies in the hands of twelve angry men.
Review: Twelve Angry Men was originally a tele-play written by Reginald Rose and then later adapted to a film in 1957.
The movie itself is ninety-six minutes long and follows the inevitable fate of a Puerto Rican boy who’s being accused of stabbing his father and fleeing the scene.
The twelve men in charge of finding the boy guilty, couldn’t care less. Bar one, who is adamant that they must at least try and give the boy a fair trial before coming to an agreement.
Tension sizzles and wires are crossed as the board deliberates kismet of the boy in question.
This film raises a very thought-provoking issue – could the baggage that every juror brings with him, sway his vote – even subconsciously? All the jurors have lives, history and problems back home. They are all facing issues, as we all do, in their own personal lives. Bringing these problems as well as the all too familiar assumptions and racial divides into the room with them makes for some explosive moments of high tension.
12 Angry Men is a really good movie to watch as it focuses on and highlights the fact that assumptions can be easily and erroneously made. It also reinforces the fact that we should never judge a person by their skin colour, where they live or how they dress.
This black and white classic is really well worth watching, you are quickly entranced by the movies and caught up in the incredibly well written script and story-line.
If you like the sound of this classic film, place a request on it on our Library Catalogue and you will be top of the list when our reserve system returns after the system update next week.
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