I think that Twelve Angry Men works well as a thriller despite the fact it takes place in one room only, the lack of props, and the main characters all being men and not being particularly attractive. These things may seem negative but they all add to the oppressive atmosphere and agitation that is maintained throughout the film.
Intimidating camera angles and music add to the suspense. The director of the film, Sidney Lumet casts Twelve Angry Men with great vigilance with all characters having individual backgrounds, views and attitudes.Threatening camera angles and facial expressions show the characters' personalities and feelings at that moment in time, for example, Juror 3 looks menacing and angry when the camera is below him looking up, and his face is in a grimace. Overall, I think the film is an effective thriller.
The director subtly creates an incredibly stuffy and agitated atmosphere during the film in a number of different ways. Several of the jurors are smoking, which could mean they are stressed, and this adds to the unpleasantness of the small, cramped Jury Room.Some of the jurors pace up and down during the discussion, which makes the viewer nervous and this adds greatly to the tension. The sounds of the fan and rain emphasise the anxiety in the room and could also be metaphors of the case becoming fresher and clearer in certain jurors' minds. For example, when juror 3 has a moment of realisation towards the end of the film, we can hear the rain and fan well, and I think this is a metaphor to show them blowing and washing away evidence indicating that the boy is guilty.He has been trying to get the boy sentenced to death because he thinks this will make him feel better about his son, maybe as a way of punishing him.
But when we hear the rain on the window, it is showing that he now realises what he has been doing, that the boy in question probably is innocent, and that he was just using his son as an excuse that all offspring want to hurt their parents. The obvious heat in the room also has an effect on the mood in it. The signs of heat make the viewer feel uneasy because they are forced to imagine the high temperature of the room and it is unpleasant.We can see the sweat on the jurors' shirts and they mop beads of sweat off their foreheads. This makes the viewer feel uncomfortable, like they can almost feel the heat.
Juror 7 whistles at one point, which adds to the tension and suspense, because this means he is getting impatient and wants to know what's going to happen and this makes the viewer wonder too. Certain characters and their actions greatly affect the unpleasant environment during the film. Juror 3 is very restless as he paces up and down and smokes a lot. He raises his voice several times which shows he is a dominant person and wants the other jurors to believe what he does.Instead of discussing his views, he shouts and loses his temper, which demonstrates the fact that he doesn't actually have a good argument, but just wants to punish the boy as a way of letting out his anger about his own son running away.
He constantly scowls and has a curling lip that gives him a look of dissatisfaction. At one point, he sneers "Come on! " in a dismissive tone which is a very influential comment, because it would make the other jurors feel that they had to hurry up to please him, and maybe even make them feel guilty for taking so long to come to a decision.The way he keeps moving about impatiently and twitchily gives off a feeling of irritation in the film. Juror 10 has a cold, and has to keep wiping his nose with a tissue. The viewer can tell that his nose is sore and itchy, and this makes them wince because the thought of it is so unpleasant. His face is contorted which makes him look as though it hurts him and makes him look aggravated, and the viewer then imagines his pain and this is not nice.
Juror 8 has a much more positive effect on the mood in the room. He stays quite still and is seemingly calm.He is dressed in a white suit which makes him seem almost godly, which in some respects he is, as he manages to change the minds of eleven men, some being extremely stubborn. His voice is composed and peaceful, and he gives his views across well. For example, he challenges Juror 4 to tell him about movies he saw a few nights before, something that the boy in question couldn't tell the police about the films he apparently saw on the night of his fathers death. Juror 4 can't do this, and juror 8's point is proved.
He tries to prove his own points and he gives evidence that points towards the boy being innocent, instead of picking holes in the other jurors' evidence. He never loses his temper and he sticks up for the old man when another juror is shouting at him, and this shows he is a pleasant and friendly man. He smiles a lot and rarely looks angry. Also, he has big brown eyes, that give him the look of a little boy fighting bullies in a school playground and I think this makes the viewer pity him. He also mentions that he has three children and this makes us have more respect for him because he is a dad.
He gets excited when he knows he's onto a good point and this shows determination. Juror 7 is dressed very casually, wearing a hat and no tie. He is also chewing gum which makes him look impatient and like he just wants to get out of the room. He tells the other jurors that he is going to a baseball game after they have made a decision.
He even says "stay in there and pitch" to another juror, which is a term used in baseball, so his mind is not totally on the case, but on his baseball game. Camera angles used in Twelve Angry Men give the shots suspense and set the mood effectively.For example, when Juror 8 tells the rest of the jurors that if they do a secret vote and they all vote guilty, he will change his vote to guilty too. He then walks to the corner of the room and faces the wall.
This shows that he has realised he can't convince any of them to see his points and he has hit a dead end. The camera zooms slowly in on him, and he has a thoughtful yet worried expression on his face. This makes us tense because we want to know what's going to happen. Music is also used in this scene. It is slow, quite sad sounding music that reflects the way that Juror 8 must be feeling.
When Juror 10 gives a lengthy speech about what he believes, all the other jurors get up from the table and stand around the outside of the room. This is a very powerful shot, because it shows them all stood with their backs to him, and him standing by the table looking extremely weak and pathetic because no one has listened to him. When they are all discussing the murder weapon which was a knife, Juror 4 does a demonstration with the knife the Juror 8's chest and it looks like he is being threatened with it.The rest of the jurors say it's not possible that the boy could have stabbed his father from a certain angle, and there is a quick shot of each character as if they are saying that it is not possible. This is powerful, because it is showing that all it is eleven men against one, so Juror 8 looks very vulnerable. There is a close up of Juror 8 when he is being challenged by various other jurors and this makes him look extremely exposed and defenceless because there is no one else on his side.
Juror 8 is always in good view. Right the way through the film we can see him clearly, and what he's doing.For the majority of the film he looks rather weak and helpless, but when Juror 3 is the only one voting guilty at the end, he looks powerful, because the camera is below him looking up. Juror 3 looks weak when he breaks down because the camera is from above. The viewer is shocked to see Juror 3 smiling on the picture of him and his son because this is the first time during the film that we have seen him looking remotely happy.
It also shows that he must love his son and that the memory must make him content, because he looks joyful for a moment, and this is a surprise because we never imagine him to be like that.This makes us realise that his tough attitude throughout the film had just been an act, when really he was quite weak inside. I think Twelve Angry Men works really well as a thriller because of all the things I've mentioned. Lack of scenery, use of sound and music, characters facial expressions and actions all make it a nail-biting film to watch, because you are constantly on the edge of your seat, wondering what will happen next, and wondering if the boy is guilty or not.
