GCSE Media Coursework

Discuss how successfully Twelve Angry Men works as a thriller despite the limitations of setting, storyline and characters.

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.

Join now!

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 is a preview of the whole essay