A film that almost exclusively takes place in a single room is a frightening prospect, both to an audience (the potential boredom is very high) and to a filmmaker to somehow make it work, make it move and most importantly, make it cinematic. Sidney Lumet achieved just that with one of his earliest feature films – the Reel 13 Classic from late October - 12 ANGRY MEN.
The driving force behind making this film work is editing. The pace is impeccable and manages to make a one-room movie bristle with energy. Lumet doesn't overpower us with too much camera movement, but he knows just how long to hold on a shot and when to move on to the next. It doesn't hurt to have such a good story as a foundation either. To be honest, though I hadn't seen the film, we had studied the teleplay in high school and even then, I found the concept of one juror after another succumbing to "Juror 8" (Henry Fonda) kind of contrived. However, Lumet and his ensemble make it seem plausible, primarily by the way the editor and the writer make the plot unfold. It unravels the way good mysteries should - one strand at a time, leaving bread crumbs for the audience to follow the trail, but also making sure they don't arrive there too soon.
As far as the aforementioned ensemble is concerned, it was a great choice of Lumet not to go overboard with the star power. Essentially, he has 11 character actors and one star, which is perfect for this sort of thing. It adds to the sense of verisimilitude – they feel like real guys in that room (with the exception of Fonda, of course), guys that you could have seen on the street or at the bar in 1957. As it happens, Fonda's a bit of a weak link amidst the cast, not so much for what he does as the lack of dimensions to the character. His Juror 8 is less of a man than a symbol of righteous indignation. Similarly, Lee J. Cobb as the primary antagonist hits a few false notes, tending to veer towards Pacino-like bellowing. It is the rest of the cast that make the film feel so alive – actors like Jack Warden, Jack Klugman and perhaps most of all, E.G. Marshall. These actors are seasoned veterans who make the most of this opportunity to be on equal ground with someone like Fonda. With every close-up, they each give us a little more insight into their character – all with their expression or their detailed facial movements. It's practically a tutorial for what film acting should be.
Still, I have to think that, at the end of the day, it's the oft-underrated Lumet who is primarily responsible for making 12 ANGRY MEN such an effective and thought-provoking piece of entertainment (10 on IMDb's all-time rankings!). It takes a great deal of knowledge of the craft of filmmaking to make such a static story work so beautifully on screen and Lumet had enough confidence in his abilities to be up to the task. And as with most great films, the devil's in the details. It's the small things (the sound design, the facial expressions, the rhythm) that make 12 ANGRY MEN not just a great one-room movie, but a great movie period.
(For more on this or any other Reel 13 film, check out their website at www.reel13.org)