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1 Location, 1 Amazing script, and 12 Angry Men [Film Making Notes]

I watched 12 Angry Men the other night. It has been sitting on my shelf for a long time, but never gotten round to watching it. The story line was simple, 99% of the film was shot in a pretty much featureless room. Furthermore, it was very heavy on dialogue. Three points screenwriting "gurus" advise against, yet it was one of the best films I have seen in a long time.

Just amazing to see how twelve different characters are thrown together and the manifestation of their prejudices, egos and conflicts of interests. Each character is very complex and most go through a clear development arch. This is one of the best films I could recommend for studying characterization in film. The performances from all involved are fabulous, combined with Lumet’s claustrophobic direction (tight close ups and compositions) make this a truly classic movie.

As I said, you really have to get this film if you are serious about writing films with great characters - which every film should strive to be.

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Discuss 1 Location, 1 Amazing script, and 12 Angry Men

You're right about the characters, but don't forget that the film is based on a stage play, which may account for some of the "claustrophobic" nature of Lumet's direction.

I also think that Lumet is directing in essence in film noir style without all the shadows, just a lot of sweat. The oppressive nature is brought about by the constant references to the humidity, the cloudburst, the desire of some of the men to be out of there as fast as possible, and even noting that the door gets locked to the room.

The "rules" of the storyline are easy for the audience to grasp early on even though it is told very efficiently and sparsely. The emotional hook is your basic hero story against seemingly insurmountable odds, while the intellectual hook is simply wondering how the man in the white suit is going to succeed.

As each character represents differences on only a few strata of possibilities, the story is kept tight and can proceed via a series of focused conflicts and resolutions that eventually strip away the real battle underscoring the battle over the verdict: personal biases that blind us to the injustices others face. In other words, this story is about bigotry and deep personal pain and how they can warp our understanding of the world. We have racial bias, class bias, and age bias noted in this play, and we have "civilized" vanities intellectualism vs. visceral strength at one time allied but at the end exposed at their basic level and completely at odds.

One of the most purely "character-driven" stories you could ever find, it is valuable to study on many levels. This is a nuance-finding story, both for the audience and the film makers, that rewards in many ways those who seek its treasures.

submitted by jmjaco on 2007-09-11 07:06:32.

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