Juror #2
With is wife Allison (Zoey Deutch, "Zombieland: Double Tap") in her third trimester of a high risk pregnancy, Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) is anxious to get out of jury duty, but the judge is having none of it and so he is named "Juror #2."
Laura's Review: B
At the age of 94, many suspect this film may be director Clint Eastwood's last. If so, he's going out on a high note as "Juror #2" is his best film since 2008's "Gran Turino," another solid adult entertainment, if not an awards contender like "Unforgiven" or "Million Dollar Baby." Writer Jonathan A. Abrams has essentially taken "12 Angry Men" and given it an interesting twist which adds even more moral complexity by having his juror realize during opening arguments that he may in fact be responsible for the crime that James Michael Sythe (Gabriel Basso, "Hillbilly Elegy") is accused of - murder. Add to this a defense attorney, Eric Resnick (Chris Messina, "Air"), earnestly convinced of his client's innocence; an Assistant DA, prosecuting attorney Faith Killebrew (Toni Collette, Hoult's "About a Boy" costar), whose conviction will give her a 5% swing in her electoral bid for District Attorney, a forewoman intent on avoiding her third mistrial and a jury with their own preconceived notions and the imperfections of the American justice system could be seen to be on trial as well.
'You're perfect,' a moved Allison tells Justin after seeing all the work he's put into their baby's room. We'll later learn that she, a teacher, is the one who turned Justin's life around after a bad DUI crash landed him in her classroom for community service and their subsequent romance inspired him to join AA. Four sober years later, they're in a good place, but the anxiety from an earlier miscarriage of twins lingers and it was during that time that Justin stopped in at Rowdy's Hideaway where he ordered a drink but left without touching it. That was also the night Sythe had a very public and violent argument with his girlfriend Kendall Carter (the director's daughter, Francesca), a Rowdy's patron videoing their continuing spat outside in the rain where she stomped off and he followed and as Justin listens to Killebrew's opening statement, he realizes that the deer he thought he hit that night but found no evidence of and had all but forgotten just may have been Kendall, whose battered body was found down a ravine at the same spot.
Panicking, Justin visits his AA sponsor Larry Lasker (Kiefer Sutherland) who also happens to be an attorney and tells him of his predicament, hoping that coming forward immediately will provide him leniency. Not so, he's advised, given his past and the fact that he ordered a drink that night, he'd probably get 30 years for vehicular manslaughter. And so the man we just saw leading an AA meeting is essentially advising his client to convict an innocent man, one of many characters here who are outwardly good people who rationalize some pretty nefarious actions. Abrams also smartly takes the character we're most disposed to believe will act in their own self interest and surprises us.
The trial goes forward, Sythe believable on the stand, but an eye witness has identified him as the man he saw stop at the overpass where Kendall's body was found. David S. and Joel Cox cross cut between the two attorneys' closing arguments and the jury is corralled by the bailiff (Bria Brimmer) where a woman who has experience in two jury trials asks for and is given the position of Forewoman (Leslie Bibb, "About My Father"). She suggests taking a vote to see where things stand and it appears everyone is convinced of Sythe's guilt, but Justin suggests they should at least go over the evidence with a man's life hanging in the balance. This angers a bus driver who wants home to her kids (Adrienne C. Moore, TV's 'Orange Is the New Black') and Marcus (Cedric Yarbrough, TV's 'Speechless'), who believes it's a big waste of time, but others are more amenable, including Harold (J.K. Simmons), who outs himself as a former homicide detective who thinks there is something off about this case and who introduces the others to the concept of confirmation bias. Harold's own investigation into the crime will get him thrown off the jury but not before having turned up some pretty compelling evidence that Sythe may indeed be innocent.
The well cast ensemble is led by the guilt wracked performances of Hoult and Collette, the latter's zeal for conviction wavering as the trial proceeds. No one here is without fault, even the lovely Allison having suggested Justin make something up to ditch his patriotic obligation, with the possible exception of Resnick, who fights like hell for his client but seems resigned to a miscarriage of justice. In a nice touch, he and Faith are actually friends who regularly meet for drinks and amiable sparring.
Another notable jury standout is Chikako Fukuyama, whose character's status as a medical student allows her to suggest additional theories. Parallels to "12 Angry Men" in Abrams script are undeniable during jury deliberations, from questioning the sight of an elderly witness to juror prejudices, but he swerves admirably in the film's third act. Eastwood's direction is clean and sure-footed, his cast all contributing to a thought-provoking courtroom drama with subtle emphasis during heavier moments provided by Mark Mancini's ("Cry Macho") string score.
Why Warner Brothers is limiting the release of Eastwood's 34th film to 50 theaters is a mystery, but if you take the time to seek it out, you will be rewarded with a morally twisty courtroom thriller led by a great cast.
Warner Brothers releases "Juror #2" in theaters on 11/1/24.
