God bless the action movie. Everyone loves a massive explosion, an exciting shootout, or a pitched battle against an alien war machine. But it’s a special kind of movie that can thrill without any violence whatsoever. 12 Angry Men, the 1957 courtroom drama directed by Sidney Lumet, is such a movie, and you can watch it for free whenever you like.
Conversation is thrilling in 12 Angry Men
With conversations this riveting, who needs action scenes?
12 Angry Men is set on “the hottest day of the year,” right at the end of a murder trial for an unnamed 18-year-old who’s on trial for stabbing his abusive father to death. We see him only once, right at the beginning of the movie. Then we head into a tiny room where the 12 jurors discuss whether to send him to the electric chair.
There may not be any violence in 12 Angry Men, but a man’s life does hang in the balance, so the stakes are high. At first, it feels like it’s going to be an open-and-shut case. Eleven out of the 12 jurors are ready to vote guilty. The one holdout is Juror No. 8 (Henry Fonda), who thinks there’s enough reasonable doubt to at least warrant more discussion. “We’re talking about somebody’s life here,” he says. “We can’t decide in five minutes. Supposing we’re wrong?”
Most of the movie consists of Fonda’s character slowly convincing the other men to change their votes from guilty to not guilty. That doesn’t sound like it would be particularly thrilling, but it’s edge-of-your-seat stuff. Most of the men walk into that room assuming they have lots of things in common, and they do, but the more they talk, the more fault lines start to appear; in class, in socioeconomic status, in education, and in temperament. Some of them switch their votes as Fonda points out the unreliability of the evidence. One switches to “not guilty” because he has tickets to a baseball game and wants to get out of here as quickly as possible.
But for the long-term holdouts, it’s about more than evidence. One goes on a racist rant against “those people” — that’s a reference to the defendant, a poor kid who grew up in a slum. It becomes clear that Jo. 3 (Lee J. Cobb), the final holdout, has some unresolved issues with his estranged son that he’s projecting onto the case. We don’t know any of their names, but over the course of 96 minutes, we get to know them all in great deal. After all, the movie has nothing else to do except spend time with them.
12 Angry Men is masterfully made
“Shocking!” “Savage!” “Explosive!”
Sometimes it feels like things in the deliberation room are just about to erupt in violence, but it never quite gets there. Instead, Sidney Lumet ratchets up the tension to almost unbearable levels. The camera will close in on speakers’ faces as arguments get more heated, making things feel more tense. But instead of all that tension getting released in a fight, it’s released in a new revelation about the character or the evidence. 12 Angry Men isn’t an action movie, but Lumet directs it like it is.
Lumet draws out longer arcs. At the start of the movie, we mostly see the characters from above, but as it continues, the camera drops to eye level and then below eye level, so we’re looking up. Towards the end of the movie, the ceiling starts to become visible, which makes it feel like the room is shrinking. Everyone is coming closer together, tempers are getting hotter, and things could explode at any minute.
If you still don’t think a drama about 12 guys talking in a room can be a thriller, consider that the advertising certainly sold it as such. The trailer above describes the characters as “12 men with the smell of violent death in their nostrils,” “12 men turned into 12 clawing animals,” and “a battering ram of excitement.” We’re told the movie is “Shocking,” “Savage,” and “Explosive!” The trailer is almost as entertaining as the movie itself. “Death is on their minds…Life is in their hands,” we’re told. “Twelve angry men…with 12 chances to kill!…Here is the most explosive motion picture in years!”
Why 12 Angry Men doesn’t feel dated
If you don’t believe me, watch it for yourself for free
12 Angry Men is widely considered a classic today, and deservedly so. It’s right up there with other great films like Citizen Kane. And other than the black-and-white photography, it doesn’t feel dated. It’s true that no one uses smart devices, but they’re banned in jury rooms anyway.
But mostly it feels modern because the issues it tackles still feel relevant. How seriously should you take your civic duty? Do people want to actually consider evidence, or can the justice system just serve as an outlet for personal vindictiveness? And if it can, what can honest people do to stop it?
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Hooray for free
12 Angry Men is available to watch in its entirely completely for free on YouTube, one of many great movies you can watch online without spending a dime. It’s well worth the 96 minutes.
- Release Date
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April 10, 1957
- Runtime
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97 minutes
- Director
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Sidney Lumet
