If Juror #2 proves to be director Clint Eastwood’s swan song, it’s a fitting one. A lot has been made about whether or not this will be the final film helmed by the 94-year-old filmmaker, but if this movie is any indication, it proves that Eastwood still has a great eye for complex stories and characters. Courtroom dramas tend to get redundant and stale (even if they’re spiced up with musical numbers as seen in Joker: Folie à Deux) but Juror #2 is always engrossing, likely because there is more going on than the basic mechanics, and beats these movies normally hit. The film has an intriguing hook and from there, it hits the audience with many moral and ethical questions that leave the moviegoer thinking long after they have departed the theater. This is aided by strong performances from its ensemble cast, particularly Nicholas Hoult, who shines in the film’s titular role.
Justin Kemp (Hoult) is a recovering alcoholic who is called upon to do his civic duty by doing jury duty on a case involving the death of Kendall Carter (Francesca Eastwood), a young woman who, a year prior, was found dead under a bridge after getting into a fight with her boyfriend Justin Sythe (Gabriel Basso) at a bar. The trial that ensues is music to the ears of district attorney Faith Killebrew (Toni Collette), who wants to attract voters by getting a conviction in a high-profile domestic violence case. Sythe is an obvious suspect due to the fight and the coroner also believes her injuries are a result of blunt force trauma due to assault. Open and shut case, right? Not so fast
Justin, serving on the jury of the Sythe trial, believes he may have killed Kendall on the night in question because he hit something with his car, thinking it was a deer, and he drove off. Even though Justin is a recovering alcoholic, when he goes to his AA sponsor Larry (Kiefer Sutherland) who also happens to be a defense attorney, for advice, he tells him no one will believe he was sober that night due to his prior DUI offenses. Killebrew wants a conviction, and the jury has to reach a verdict because she’s tied the case to her election campaign, which means she’ll try the case over and over again. Holding out and forcing a mistrial won’t save Sythe so Justin has to either try to encourage a not-guilty-verdict to get Sythe off or risk coming clean which ensures he’ll spend at least 30 years in prison, effectively leaving his very pregnant wife Allison (Zoey Deutch) to raise their child alone.
Eastwood, working from a screenplay by Jonathan Abrams, executes a highly absorbing thriller with Juror #2 and their most effective tool proves to be placing the audience squarely in Justin’s shoes. This is a man who once struggled with alcoholism and is now living the life of a clean and sober man but is hit with a moral conundrum that makes the viewer question how they would handle the situation. Even though Justin wasn’t drunk on the night in question, he did go to a bar and almost fell off the wagon. That guilt, combined with the guilt of what he’s done, becomes one of the most fascinating aspects of the film. On top of this, Kendall’s boyfriend had a history of violence and was abusive, sending him away for life gets a monster off the streets. Even if, in this one case, he wasn’t the monster who ended Kendall’s life. Justin is about to start a new chapter of his life with his wife and a child, but does that make his life more worthy of saving? The morality issues at play make Juror #2 a captivating watch as Justin works angles to ensure the jury leans in the direction of finding Sythe guilty.
Beyond the screenplay and direction, Juror #2 engages due to performances that resonate because they feel very real and lived in. Hoult in particular is a revelation here, convincingly showing the turmoil of someone about to be a father and then has the weight and guilt of this past event hanging over his head. He knows his world could come crashing down if his secret is exposed and Hoult plays the anxiety of the situation perfectly. On the other hand, he also finds a way to make the audience never hate Justin for what he’s doing, mostly because Justin displays conflict and guilt regarding wrongfully convicting a man who didn’t commit the crime in question. Hoult plays Justin as someone trying to save his life due to a mistake and not an outright villain trying to get away with a crime.
The jury scenes present more top-notch moments, with J.K. Simmons getting to shine as Harold, a retired detective. At first, he seems like he could be an ally to Justin as he wants the rest of the jurors to look at the facts of the case and Sythe’s criminal history, but he could also present a problem. Due to his detective skills, could he pick up on Justin’s red flags of guilt? Their scenes become their own tennis match of sorts as Justin navigates all the members of the jury to see things his way without trying to appear like he’s pushing an angle.
Also shining is Collette, reuniting with Hoult following 2002’s About a Boy. She also faces her own moral roadblock. She wants a conviction because it will help her re-election bid but she struggles with self-doubt once she begins to question the facts of the case. Even she questions if Sythe actually committed the crime as evidence emerges that it could’ve been a hit-and-run. As that notion becomes more clear, she’s left with a moral dilemma of her own. Does she go through the easiest route to ensure a conviction and help her career or does she follow her instincts and look into another scenario when it comes to what happened to Kendall that night? Justin and Faith are both facing these ethical questions and watching them deal with how to handle it results in its own brand of escalating tension. The film is rounded out by solid performances from Deutch, Sutherland, and Chris Messina, who trades barbs with Collette’s Faith in the courtroom but has a refreshingly professional relationship with her outside the courtroom. Although their screen time is pretty minimal, and makes the audience wish they had a little more to do, they all make an impression.
Juror #2 ends on a note that may disappoint some who want definitive answers. The ambiguity of the finale only adds to the film’s appeal, making the viewer question where things end up for all involved in the end. Getting to that point is what makes the film so strong because it’s bolstered by exceptional filmmaking from Eastwood, great performances, courtroom scenes that maintain tension and never get boring, and a fresh take on the genre due to its views on morality and even the corruption within our own legal system. One hopes this isn’t Eastwood’s final gift to the moviegoing public but if it is, he certainly goes out on top.
Juror #2 is now playing in select theaters courtesy of Warner Bros.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhkkBFhW-MM
Juror #2 ends on a note that may disappoint some who want definitive answers. The ambiguity of the finale only adds to the film's appeal, making the viewer question where things end up for all involved in the end. Getting to that point is what makes the film so strong because it's bolstered by exceptional filmmaking from Eastwood, great performances, courtroom scenes that maintain tension and never get boring, and a fresh take on the genre due to its views on morality and even the corruption within our own legal system. One hopes this isn't Eastwood's final gift to the moviegoing public but if it is, he certainly goes out on top.
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Hello! My name is Gaius Bolling: movie, TV, and pop culture junkie! The industry has been in my veins since I was a kid and I have carried that on through adulthood. I attended Los Angeles Film Academy and participated in their screenwriting and editing program. From there, I have learned to hone my skills in the world of entertainment journalism. Some of my favorite genres include horror, action, and drama and I hope to share my love of all of this with you.
