The leadership in Twelve Angry Men - movie analysis
Movie Analysis: 12 Angry Men
In the movie “12 Angry Men”, a 1957 black & white classic courtroom drama, the director Sidney Lumen not only gives an insight into the human susceptibility to the opinions of others and disposition to become biased due to personal prejudice but also gives a testimony to what determines a true leader. The movie tells a story of a jury composed of twelve members, who deliberate the guilt or acquittal of an 18-year old boy accused of stabbing his father to death. The stake is very high, as according to the law once the captive is pronounced guilty in an unanimous verdict, death sentence is mandatory.
Human emotion and dialogue play a key factor in the movie. Almost every scene is set within the jury room and the adjoining bathroom. It amplifies the power of the dialogues and sets the focus on the continuously shifting relationships between the characters. The position of the camera changes throughout the movie. In the early scenes, it is usually pointed above eye-level, using wide-angle lenses, which provides the viewer with an invasive overview of the situation. As the discussion becomes fiercer, the director resorts to using higher focal length, which builds up the tension and gives the viewer a deeper insight into the emotional states of the characters. Furthermore, the authors have deliberately resigned from the use of music, except for short sequences at the beginning and towards the end of the movie. The atmosphere is built upon the ambient noise interrupted by conversations, abrupt monologues and shouts.
Characterisation plays a significant role in the movie. However, a remarkable feature is that we don not learn the names of the jury. The jurors are assigned numbers, and with the exception of two, who introduce themselves to each other at the very end of the movie, they remain anonymous to us. All jury members have different professional and social backgrounds and distinctive personalities. Some are well educated;
In the movie “12 Angry Men”, a 1957 black & white classic courtroom drama, the director Sidney Lumen not only gives an insight into the human susceptibility to the opinions of others and disposition to become biased due to personal prejudice but also gives a testimony to what determines a true leader. The movie tells a story of a jury composed of twelve members, who deliberate the guilt or acquittal of an 18-year old boy accused of stabbing his father to death. The stake is very high, as according to the law once the captive is pronounced guilty in an unanimous verdict, death sentence is mandatory.
Human emotion and dialogue play a key factor in the movie. Almost every scene is set within the jury room and the adjoining bathroom. It amplifies the power of the dialogues and sets the focus on the continuously shifting relationships between the characters. The position of the camera changes throughout the movie. In the early scenes, it is usually pointed above eye-level, using wide-angle lenses, which provides the viewer with an invasive overview of the situation. As the discussion becomes fiercer, the director resorts to using higher focal length, which builds up the tension and gives the viewer a deeper insight into the emotional states of the characters. Furthermore, the authors have deliberately resigned from the use of music, except for short sequences at the beginning and towards the end of the movie. The atmosphere is built upon the ambient noise interrupted by conversations, abrupt monologues and shouts.
Characterisation plays a significant role in the movie. However, a remarkable feature is that we don not learn the names of the jury. The jurors are assigned numbers, and with the exception of two, who introduce themselves to each other at the very end of the movie, they remain anonymous to us. All jury members have different professional and social backgrounds and distinctive personalities. Some are well educated;