Directed by Sidney Lumet and carried by Henry Fonda, the film “12 angry men” plunges the spectator into a closed closed dock.
Released in 1957, Twelve angry men There remains an timeless classic of the seventh art, which is still looking at itself very much more than six decades after its release. This trial film follows a popular jury of twelve men responsible for deliberating on the fate of an 18 -year -old young man accused of having killed his father. They must make a verdict unanimously. While eleven men are convinced without too much reflection that the suspect is guilty, one of them issues a reasonable doubt. Therefore, the question arises: can we really condemn a man to the death penalty if the slightest doubt still remains?
Directed by Sidney Lumet, Twelve angry men became a cult film of American cinema, since it won the golden bear at the Berlin Festival the year of its release. And if the feature film is interested in a criminal affair, it is not exactly inspired by a true story. The closed closed dock worn by Henry Fonda is inspired by the play of the same name written by the playwright Reginald Rose in 1954. The latter was inspired by his own juror experience in a similar criminal case to write the text.
“I was sworn in a homicide case, we had a terrifying debate, furious for eight hours in the jury room,” said the author in an interview with the Daily Newsin 1997. “And I said to myself: Oh, what an incredible decor for a room”. If the author was inspired by his own experience to describe the exchanges of the jury, it seems however obvious that the detail of the case as he is told in Twelve angry men differs. It actually doesn’t matter to the substance of the case, since the play, then the feature film, is more interested in our relationship to justice and the moral dilemma it imposes, as well as the way in which the social class and the racism can influence our beliefs, certainties and opinions.
Synopsis – A young man, of Hispanic origin, is accused of the murder of his father. The jury, made up of twelve people, is responsible for stating or not guilty during his deliberations. Everything seems to accuse him, and almost all jurors agree that the young man is guilty. However, one of them is not convinced by what he saw or heard during the trial, and he will try to explain it to other jurors …