Twelve Angry Men

This was the third time I’d seen this film and I was perfectly happy to sit through it again. It is a very well-written drama and the story unfolds with pace and precision as the characters open out and underlying hypocrisy, prejudice and bitterness are exposed. The one major issue, which struck me the first time I saw it, is its inescapable ‘theatricality’. It is a play, and works as such, but the very premise is, I’m afraid to say, ‘cinematically’ boring (I can imagine Richard’s reaction if I were to pitch something similar to him!). What jarred most, and reminded me that this was really a piece of theatre I was watching, was the constant getting up and walking around. It seems unnatural that whenever someone has line they have to get up and do something while they deliver it. This is necessary though as there is little visual excitement to be had from twelve men sitting round a table and it is all credit to Lumet that it is in fact as engaging as it is.