Nominated for three Academy Awards, it was also selected as the second best courtroom drama by the American Film Institute.
The movie is about a 12-man jury who deliberate the guilt or innocence of an 18-year-old slum boy who is accused of stabbing his father to death. Because this is a criminal trial, the verdict must be unanimous. The movie goes into the difficulties encountered when trying to build a consensus, given the different personalities and motives of the jurors who are identified only by their numbers.
During an initial vote, all say the boy is guilty except for Juror 8 (played excellently by Henry Fonda). This does not sit well with other jurors including one who looks down on people from slums and another juror who wants to get to a Yankees baseball game. Throughout the process, Juror 8 is always the voice of reason as he questions the murder weapon, the reliability of the witnesses, the interference of passing train noise, and the direction of the stab wound.
One by one, the other jurors begin to see the rationality of Juror 8’s perspective. The last holdout is temperamental Juror 3. At one point when Juror 8 accuses Juror 3 of being a sadist for wanting to “burn” the boy, Juror 3 lunges at Juror 8 yelling “I’ll kill him!” Near the end of the movie, Juror 3 breaks down revealing his poor relationship with his own son which has influenced him with the verdict in this case.
The movie ends with consensus finally reached with a not-guilty verdict for the boy. This film is not the least bit dated because the messages about approaching a process and a decision rationally and fairly ring true for all times. The film is aided by convincing acting by all the actors.
Originally published on LinkedIn
◊♦◊
Are you a first-time contributor to The Good Men Project? Submit here:
◊♦◊
If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project, please join us as a Premium Member, today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all-access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class, and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group, and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock