With 36 films at Warner Bros., four Academy Awards, and several iconic performances to his name, there is nothing more that Clint Eastwood could do to burgeon his resume. Surprisingly, the director came across this screenplay by writer Jonathan A. Abrams and said, “I’m not done yet.” The 94-year-old filmmaker’s latest film, Juror #2, is a handsomely crafted thriller that would fit right in with the heyday of ’90s filmmaking. Unfortunately, Juror #2 was released in 2024. Eastwood likely didn’t have a 50-theatre release in mind, but these are the times we live in. Previously a lucrative venture for Hollywood, court procedural dramas became blasé as audiences could watch them on TV. Popular courtroom dramas constantly up the ante. Shows like Presumed Innocent have cliffhanger twists every few episodes to keep people watching.
The problem is that the audience already knows the hook to Juror #2. Not that that makes the drama less compelling, but for a genre that saturates streaming, it’s not an excuse to rush to the movies.
Eastwood’s oeuvre of late centres on heroism, whether it be Sully or American Sniper, but Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) is far from the graces of those men. He is more of a moral quandary. Justin appreciates that jury duty is a civic duty, but it couldn’t come at a worse time. His wife Ally (Zoey Deutch) is late into a high-risk pregnancy, and he’s newly sober and balancing a full-time job. No dismissal comes, so our protagonist sits on the jury for a high-profile murder case involving a former gang member and his wealthy ex-girlfriend, Kendall (Francesca Eastwood).
The jury’s convinced that James Sythe (Gabriel Basso) is guilty before the trial begins. The narrative around the case on social media and cable news is that he snapped and killed Kendall out of rage. After a very public spat where onlookers watched James threaten and break bottles near his Kendall, she’s found dead in a ditch, having suffered blunt force trauma.
Eastwood touches on the various ways the media irresponsibly uses 24/7 coverage to justify amplifying falsehoods in the name of ratings. He also covered this recurring motif in Richard Jewell. Being tried by a jury of one’s peers is one of the backbones of democracy, but it doesn’t feel like it in practice. While Eastwood holds a reverence for law and order, our legal system is imperfect. Prosecutors like Faith Killebrew (Toni Collette) put their ambitions of higher office ahead of the case in front of them. Judges use verdicts to establish political agendas. Eyewitness testimony can often be wrong. Jurors will rush a decision to finish a trial and get back to their lives.
As the trial begins, Justin feels his gut turn to stone. The prosecutor and defense attorney exchange dates and viewpoints, but November 6th gives Justin pause. Faith describes the defendant dumping a body on that stormy night, and Eastwood shifts to Justin’s memory. A flashback of him driving. The road is dark, rain obscures his vision, and Justin hits something. Justin gets out and sees nothing, or perhaps he doesn’t want to. For many of us, it’s a pothole or a squirrel, and we move on. To his horror, Justin realizes he should be in the defendant’s chair instead. He didn’t hit a deer. He killed a woman. Given his history of DUIs, no one would believe he was sober.
Famous for his turn as a war boy who develops a conscience in Mad Max: Fury Road, Hoult’s anguish resonates with the audience. Anyone could identify with a moral dilemma of that magnitude. Even in a marketplace where everything is I.P. oriented, you can sell that pitch in 30 seconds. And that’s the hook that likely got Eastwood involved as well. Given a free out to avoid strife in your marriage, your career, etc. Could you turn that down? Steering the jury toward a guilty verdict would take the pressure off Justin—could he live with the consequences?
If Juror #2 rarely left the courtroom or the confines of Justin’s surroundings, it would be less implausible. Once juror and retired detective Harold (J.K. Simmons) starts investigating things on his own, however, suspending disbelief becomes difficult. Juries are often sequestered and kept on tight leashes during such cases, but for the sake of drama, Harold checks with an old friend, the coroner on the case, and deduces that Kendall’s death likely came from a hit-and-run. Harold aligns with Justin, believing James to be innocent, but any more sleuthing could ultimately put Justin behind bars for the rest of his life. He wants to do the right thing, but he’s also looking at 30 years in prison. Justin knows that save for luck, he could be where James is. But he has a baby coming and wants to see it grow up.
Solidly acted, Juror #2 stands because of Hoult and Collette’s performances. Hoult only has facial expressions to rely on to convey his interior struggle, and he succeeds in creating a fully realized lead. We can see the gears turning behind his eyes, even as his face tries to project calm. Leaning into that Georgia drawl, Collette has slightly more fun with her portrayal. She takes a clichéd hawkish prosecutor and gradually softens her into a public servant who may have got it wrong. Like most Eastwood projects, Juror #2 is well-cast and filled with quality character actors. In addition to Hoult and Collette, the ensemble includes Chris Messina as a desperate public defender, Kiefer Sutherland as Justin’s sponsor, and Cedric Yarbrough and Leslie Bibb as fellow jurors.
Juror #2 runs a brisk pace, replicating the typical tempo that Eastwood works at. While a few shots likely would’ve benefitted from additional takes, director of photography Yves Bélanger lends the film a golden hue. The sheen matches the old-school sentimentality at the centre of Juror #2. We’re all just trying to make it through the day, Eastwood argues. People, at their core, are decent. Even as the justice system reduces us to monsters.
No film should have to deal with the expectation of being Clint Eastwood’s last film. Cry Macho didn’t manage that lofty standard, and fortunately, it was not his last film. If this is the end of the storied director’s career, it is a noble one.
