Film Review: ‘Juror #2’ is Clint Eastwood’s Best Work in Years

For years now, it has been diminishing returns with Clint Eastwood. The past twenty years has seen his directorial efforts go from hotly anticipated A-list works for adults to, at best, a mixed bag, with some awful films to boot. Especially lately, the movies have appeared like signs that his time behind the camera is over. So, color me surprised that Juror #2 is a largely terrific flick. Is it occasionally flawed? Yes. Is it also massively entertaining? Oh yes. Warner Bros. is dropping the ball by not putting more efforts behind this one. It has got the goods.

Juror #2 is a crackerjack legal/moral thriller. They don’t make them like this anymore, both in terms of courtroom tales and also just this sort of mainstream entertainment for adults. Eastwood himself used to do this sort of thing, if not usually with this setting. Not only has it refreshed him, it works as a very satisfying potential swan song for the man.

Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) is about to be a father. His wife Ally (Zoey Deutch) is in the final trimester of her pregnancy, coming after a devastating miscarriage for the couple. So, when he can’t get out of Jury Duty, they’re both annoyed. The case is a murder trial, where prosecuting attorney Faith Killebrew (Toni Collette), who is running for District Attorney, is seeking to convict James Sythe (Gabriel Basso) in the death of his girlfriend Kendall Carter (Francesca Eastwood). His lawyer (Chris Messina) claims he went home after a bar fight, while Faith presents her dead body, having been bludgeoned and hurled off the side of the road. As the case begins, Justin realizes that he was at that same bar, at that same time, and wouldn’t you know it, he hit something, a deer he thought, on the way home. Not only is Sythe likely innocent, James is the guilty man.

Left to deliberate, the jury is ready to convict. Justin is the lone holdout, having a moral crisis. When his stumbling questions mostly annoy the other jurors, one (J.K. Simmons), a former cop, also feels like something is fishy. He thinks this isn’t a murder by the boyfriend, but rather a hit and run. As the jury deliberates, Justin struggles with what to do, while Faith begins to slowly wonder if there’s more to this case than the slam dunk that’s supposed to win her the election.

Led by Nicholas Hoult, the cast here is rock solid, with the supporting turns from Zoey Deutch and J.K. Simmons shining brightest. Hoult allows the morality of the situation to continually wash over him in a way that’s affecting yet never too overwhelming. Deutch takes the supportive wife role and does more with it than most, making her a memorable character when she arguably shouldn’t have been. Simmons elevates a character who is largely a plot device, but with his talent, you won’t care. Toni Collette’s election subplot is barely given more than the barest of mentions, but she comes on strong towards the end. Chris Messina, on the other hand, deserves a bit more to do, though he makes the most of his courtroom scenes and interactions with Collette. In addition to Gabriel Basso and Francesca Eastwood, other supporting players here include Leslie Bibb, Kiefer Sutherland, Cedric Yarbrough, and more.

Director Clint Eastwood seems invigorated here, working off a script by Jonathan A. Abrams. Now, there are some shots that do appear to be first takes, and the third act is very flawed, but so much of this is just adult cinema fun. Abrams layers on a few more twists than we need, with the conclusion feeling rushed, but there creeping skepticism about the legal system does feel like something Eastwood is feeding off of.

In a prior era, Juror #2 would have been more of an awards player. That doesn’t necessarily mean that it would have been nominated, but it would have been campaigned and positioned as such. The Academy doesn’t look to this kind of film in the same way anymore, but all the same, it’s not far removed from those days. The movie is worthy of that kind of attention, even if it likely would never have gone the distance.

Juror #2 is way better than you’re expecting. It’s not perfect, but in serving up a type of cinema we never get anymore, it’s a real pleasure to behold. WB should be proudly presenting this one, not trying to pretend it doesn’t exist. This is a really enjoyable surprise, and especially if it’s the final outing by a notable director, should have more pomp and circumstance to it. Frankly, it just deserves better, considering how good it is.

SCORE: ★★★1/2