"One man is dead. Another's man life is at stake."
This one and half hour movie revolved around two things: 12 men and the concept of "guilty and not guilty." No drama, no abusive language, no fake ambitions. The best part is - even I am writing a serious review after seeing it. Hardly my style, but believe me, this movie is pure cinema.
Moreover, this movie reminds me of the quotes, I usually use, but before those quotes, let me provide the surface level information. And surely, I will be explaining the reason behind those as well.
The Story
There is this 18-years old boy, from slumb, and he has been accused of murdering his father. The jury of 12 men - mostly angry - is assigned to decide his fate. These 12 men sit in a room, and it is a hot day. They have their lifely things to do such as going for a ball game, to his business etc. And they all are in hurry, because for the most part; they have been convinced by the investigations.
Already convinced means they are pretty much biased. However, there is this man - Davis, we only come to know his name in the end. This man right here, ladies and gentleman, goes against all the 11 who consider boy as "Guilty." He does acknowledge that boy can be guilty, for the most part he too thinks. But remember there is a life at stake. And just like that with rational approaches and probabilities, he starts to convice them. And guess what, the other joins him too. One-by-one, the votes start to shift from 1-11 to 3-9 to 6-6, and finally, 12-0 in favor of not guilty.
What's so special about this movie?
It is the raw nature. These 12 men have completely different nature. But their goal is one: to decide. So with their raw nature, everyone has their own reasonings and approaches. This is what makes this whole thing a perfection.
Another thing so special is - a single room. This whole movie takes place in a single room. Modern day cinema might fail at this thing. It is hard to keep people hooked for one and half hour, that too without any romance, action or drama. And those aware of past cinema, knows this fact pretty well. The genre and cinema back then was this way, for the most part.
Oh, how can I skip it. There is this dialogue delivery. The way they all speaks, discuss, argue is what makes the movie more intriguing.
Pardon me for my commentary in advance.
I did check a few things about cast, but I am willingly skipping that part. Because, I do not want to do unjustice to any single character.
But one thing needs some justice. This was Sidney Lumet's first feature film as a director.
Now back to the point where I started it.
There is a famous quote, quipped by J.R Midha of Delhi Court: "In the Court of Justice, both the parties know the truth, and it is the judge who is on trial."
And this movie proves this fact. The whole movie revolves around the concept of possibilities. And that too where everyone has to keep their biases on side. Pretty hard thing to do right? We all are biased, although we might not accept this fact. But, we all are. And yes! I am generalizing it. This movie does justice to this thing, and 12 men are just going through their "trial."
Secondly comes the quote attributed with Voltaire. I guess, reading European History was completely worth it. I am actually been able to use it. Back to the point, he says: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
Though, in the beginning, no one was taking anyone serious. But with the passage of time, everyone was hooked. They all started to talk, give arguments, facts, and believe me, they did disapprove a lot. Still, they ended up changing their vote. ANd surely, there is a reason behind it.
That one man, who started with "Not-Guilty" vote, just because he had some doubts. Otherwise, the accused was already done for. So, never underestimate the power of a single man.
You do not always need to be right. Sometimes, all you need is to have enough courage to say: "Let us discuss this point again."
To end this, a juror mentions: "We have nothing to gain or lose by - by our verdict."
Still, they choose to stay. This is the most important lesson.
...
Ratings as of now:
IMDb: 9.0/10 — based on around 1 million ratings.
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% Tomatometer from 63 critics, with a 97% audience score from 100,000+ ratings.
Mine: 95/100.
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Peace 🕊️
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Here is the link for trailer. But personal suggestion is to watch the movie first.
Rating: 95/100
