Watched 12 Angry Men this afternoon, and it made quite an impression on me. Much has been written about it, given its near seventy years since it hit the cinemas first ( I will link some of the reviews I liked best, so that I can return to them - and you the reader, may read it). I will only make a few comments which I feel mention.
Juror no. 9, clearly the oldest man in the jury, beside making some salient points which contribute towards tilting the vote in favour of 'not guilty'. He makes an a comment about an old witness who has supposedly overheard the threats and seen the accused running away from the scene. He makes the below observation:
"It's just that I looked at him for a very long time. The seam of his jacket was split under the arm. Did you notice that? He was a very old man with a torn jacket, and he carried two canes. I think I know him better than anyone here. This is a quiet, frightened, insignificant man who has been nothing all his life, who has never had recognition—his name in the newspapers. Nobody knows him after seventy-five years. That's a very sad thing. A man like this needs to be recognized. To be questioned, and listened to, and quoted just once. This is very important."
And it got me thinking - some of the things that juror contributes to the seventy-five year old man, may very well be attributes that he, the juror, himself has felt. An old man who has never made an impression.
This trait of seeing themselves in others can be detected with other characters too. Juror no. 5, who confesses that he is from a similar background, probably had that on his mind when he initially voted as guilty. Maybe he wanted more to be not guilty of favouring someone from his background, than evaluate the exact circumstances.
Juror 3 is the last one tilt over, and it is clear that he has a grievance, a love-hate relationship with his son, who he has not seen in two years, a case of "cat's in the cradle" if you will, but more due to his attempt to "make a man" on his son. Does that hint that personal demons are the hardest to fight against ? After all even the obvious bigot is won over by juror no.8, played by Henry Fonda.
Which brings us to the photograph of the scene that I have captured for this scene. An excellent depiction of how everyone distances ( as they should ) from the bigoted, who has the most negative impact on the healing of any situation.
All in all, an excellent movie, which I may return to once in a while.
Some of the reviews which caught my eye - based on which I decided not to mention some of the things that have been said before. ( mind - am sure my observations here aren't original. Am sure they have been said before. Just that I didn't come across them).
Rating: *****
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-12-angry-men-1957
https://theindependentcritic.com/12_angry_men
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