Juror #2 - Eastwood's last stand

 Juror #2
English / Drama
114 min
JioHotstar

At 94, legendary actor and director Clint Eastwood helms Juror #2, his 40th directorial, a courtroom drama. Despite his age, Eastwood remained prolific well into the late 2000s, making movies with unbelievable regularity! Some of the popular ones being Invictus, Gran Torino, American Sniper, Sully, Richard Jewell. 

While he hasn’t made an official statement, it seems likely that this may be his final cinematic contribution. That, combined with reasonably good reviews, encouraged me to watch this movie.

Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) is a young man who has overcome a difficult past and is on the cusp of a promising future; his wife is expecting their first child. During the advanced stages of her pregnancy, Justin is called for jury duty.

The trial concerns the homicide of a young woman, which occurred a year earlier, with her boyfriend — who has a criminal record — as the prime suspect. As the investigation unfolds and new facts come to light. While most of the jury clearly leans towards one outcome - One of them,  ex-cop, Harold (J.K. Simmons), looks beyond the evidence and quietly conducts his own investigation, which brings stark revelations. Justin finds himself in a tight spot, subtly steering the jury toward a favorable outcome. 

The story is fairly straightforward, and the screenplay moves along predictable lines, with an ending that most viewers will likely anticipate. The jury room scenes could have been more compelling — most of performances don’t leave a lasting impact, barring one or two. The main cast — Toni Collette as Faith Killebrew, the prosecutor and Chris Messina as Eric Resnick, the public defender — deliver very strong performances. Their courtroom exchanges are particularly noteworthy.

Nicholas Hoult is extremely compelling as an emotionally vulnerable man whose morality drives the film’s outcome and emotional core. Like me, if you enjoy courtroom dramas and also revere Hollywood legends like Eastwood, Juror #2 is an easy and satisfying watch — and perhaps a fitting way for him to sign off, if he chooses to do so.