Despite the fact that Juror #2 is directed Clint Eastwood (reportedly, also, his last feature as a filmmaker) and contains an extended ensemble including, but not limited to, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons and Kiefer Sutherland, you’d be rightfully under the impression that such credentials hold no weight given the absolute mistreatment of this film’s release.
Whilst, yes, Eastwood’s directorial filmography has had its peaks and valleys, relegating his film to a minimal number of theatres in the US, before sending it to streaming service Max, feels like an absolute crime. Especially considering the other (lesser) products that are granted wider releases. Here in Australia, Juror #2 has been dumped – with no fanfare – to the digital market. Though there’ll be those that might wait for its streaming date here, if you have the change to spare, renting (or even purchasing) this digitally will reward you in spades, as Eastwood’s potential swan song is one of the finer films of the year, and a welcome reminder of the studio drama that has all but left the theatre space.
Hoult, who between this, Nosferatu and The Order is having a stellar year, leads the charge as Justin Kemp, a journalist and recovering alcoholic, who is doing all he can to care for his expecting wife, Allison (Zoey Deutch), who’s in the final stages of her high risk pregnancy; we learn the two have suffered a prior miscarriage that contributed to his drinking addiction. Comfortable in their life of supposed domestic bliss, Justin is called up for jury duty to be a deliberating voice for the case surrounding James Michael Sythe (Gabriel Basso), who is on trial for the murder of his girlfriend, Kendall Carter (Francesca Eastwood, Clint’s daughter), the year prior.
Given their history as a volatile couple, as well as multiple eye witnesses protesting to Sythe’s abusive nature, the jury – which also includes Simmons as a former detective, Cedric Yarbrough, Adrienne C. Moore, and Leslie Bibb as the foreperson – have basically made their mind up on his guilt. But there sits Justin and Hoult’s expressive face, indicating that a unanimous guilty verdict isn’t forthcoming; realising that he was unknowingly at the same location as Sythe and Kendall on the night of the supposed murder, he replays the events in his head, and the deer he thought he struck on that rainy night may have been Kendall. Is he the one actually responsible for her death?
Jonathan Abrams‘ ingenious concept doesn’t take long to form itself within Juror #2‘s 114 minutes, and though it does submit to a slow burn mentality, it’s undeniably gripping as the walls cave slowly in on Justin, who battles his own moral dilemma of maneuvering the deliberation process so that an innocent man doesn’t go to jail, but also covering his own bases so that he isn’t punished for a mistake, however fatal it proved to be.
Given the patriotic nature of some of his latest work – namely 2014’s American Sniper and The 15:17 to Paris (2018) – it’s a surprise to see Eastwood take something of a more cynical view towards the American court system here, but it’s in that that so much of Juror #2‘s relatability shines through, with the panel representing all facets of everyday citizens who, for whichever reason, have their stance on Sythe’s guilt or innocence. But Abrams’ script works as much as it does because it isn’t about the deliberation, but the conversation and action surrounding karma and one’s morality. Just as we aren’t sure that Sythe is responsible for Kendall’s death, we aren’t entirely sure it’s on Justin either. Certainly, the film gives us enough of a reason to buy into his guilt – and seeing Faith Killebrew (Collette), the prosecutor in the Kendall Carter case, putting the pieces together adds to the film’s thrilling mentality – but it’s ultimately ambiguity that Eastwood celebrates, with the final frame asking more questions than it cares to answer.
Don’t let the undignified release sway you, Juror #2 is a classic case of solid, adult substance winning out over any flashy additives; it’s the type of intelligent storytelling that deserves to be embraced. Eastwood has a lock on proceedings from the very beginning and Hoult consistently leads with conviction, resulting in Juror #2 emerging as one of 2024’s finest thrillers.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Juror #2 is now available to rent and/or buy on digital platforms in Australia, including Prime, Apple TV, Google TV and YouTube.
