"Do you think the woman might have made a mistake?"
My mother and I were going to watch The Help last night, but after Modern Family was over she was too tired, so I ended up watching 12 Angry Men. I'd seen it (and bought it) while in college, and I loved it. Sure, the actually legal bits of it were entirely wrong, which is unfortunate in a way... Why can't jurors raise questions about what they've been presented with, in order to point out the inconsistencies in the evidence? Why does it fall to the lawyer to do that, and then to the defendant themselves if the lawyer fails? This is why we need good lawyers, I suppose, and why I would be a terrible criminal lawyer. It's worth noting that the movie was not about the law per se, but about something more than the law; not about how the legal system works, but the philosophy that should drive our consideration of it.
Anyway. What I really liked about the movie was the staging, the camerawork, and the perfect portrayals of characters. Yes, you can argue that each of the characters was rather flat and one-dimensional (maybe two, once Henry Fonda broke them down), but that's a bit of the point. In those hours stuck in a jury room, do you think your best comes out? In the heat, in the rain, with so many different pressures intruding, I highly doubt my best qualities, or the depth of my personality, would come out. The characters are so carefully constructed and play together so well, it's really a joy to watch.
My stress response was in high gear the whole time (that's an inside joke, feel free not to laugh), but it's the sign of really quality storytelling, directing, and suspense. I even knew what happened but it still is so well done that you feel anxious the whole time, waiting for the next thing that will be said. I only wish I could see this performed live on stage, particularly this scene:
Anyway. What I really liked about the movie was the staging, the camerawork, and the perfect portrayals of characters. Yes, you can argue that each of the characters was rather flat and one-dimensional (maybe two, once Henry Fonda broke them down), but that's a bit of the point. In those hours stuck in a jury room, do you think your best comes out? In the heat, in the rain, with so many different pressures intruding, I highly doubt my best qualities, or the depth of my personality, would come out. The characters are so carefully constructed and play together so well, it's really a joy to watch.
My stress response was in high gear the whole time (that's an inside joke, feel free not to laugh), but it's the sign of really quality storytelling, directing, and suspense. I even knew what happened but it still is so well done that you feel anxious the whole time, waiting for the next thing that will be said. I only wish I could see this performed live on stage, particularly this scene:
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