Saw 12 Angry Men, a tense and frothy courtroom melodrama which follows the jurors in a murder case as they retire and deliberate. They start off with a vote and find that they are not unanimous: they find they are 11 for guilty and 1 not guilty. Alas, the biggest star of the film, Henry Fonda, is the lone hold-out and thus he begins to work on changing the other guys' minds.
The film is fairly fun. Quickly the guilty-voters are whittled down to a core of folks who think the defendant is guilty and each has his own (fairly ugly) reasons. One is racist, the other clearly lacks empathy, and a third collapses on the table, sobbing, as he reveals his motivations. Fun stuff!
The film is very melodramatic, but it mostly feels realistic. There's a few very telling scenes that reveal actual human frailties and flaws and they're not always the big scenes. There's two moments where one of the juror's change their minds: one because he wants this to be over and goes with the majority, and the other because he's not certain any more and must admit a reasonable doubt. Neither can say precisely why they changed their mind but it is clear that one just does not care and that the other cares but has become muddled, confused, perhaps cares all too much.
I also loved a moment in the final scene where, as they're all leaving the jury room, one juror runs up to Henry Fonda, wanting to continue the emotional experience they were on, only to find that the moment has evaporated after they gave their verdict. He winds up just lamely asking for his name and then they go their separate ways. It's a little moment that feels very true-to-life and which also reflects our experience as the film ends: we want to go on feeling and reacting, but it's over now. See you around!
The film is pretty good. It's a bit frothy but that suits my taste just fine. I enjoyed it!
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