In Juror #2, an American titan, Clint Eastwood, tackles one of this country’s landmark and defining aspects: the American Jury system.  As flawed as it can be, it’s been a part of this country well near since its inception; twelve impartial jurors - as blind as lady justice, only to feel which way the scale tips. One day, we may even find ourselves among the twelve jurors. Now, to some people this may help people feel as if they’re helping the world become a better place, or it may just be a massive inconvenience that interferes with more important things. However, for people like Justin Kemp, things are a lot more complicated when he finds himself in a moral predicament; he’s serving on a Jury, and he may or may not be responsible for the death that the defendant is on trial for. 

 

Juror #2 comes as a character study of people like Kemp, and their place in this kind of legal system. As we find out more about him, his situation becomes more complicated and daunting, and Nicolas Hoult elevates so much flavor to the dramatic meat of this character, it becomes one of his more defining performances of his catalog. Toni Collette and Chris Messina play two lawyers; Collette, a senior prosecutor up for election as District Attorney, and Messina, a public defender who’s on the case… well.. Because no one else would take it. The dynamic between these two bring out more Eastwood’s interrogative filmmaking as they both become more and more unsure of the case the closer that they look, and grappling with the fact that they may be sending an innocent man to prison. 

 

Eastwood’s filmmaking feels casual at first, but it’s much more astute than it appears to be. Certain images and set locations linger, but never nudge the viewer to any specific details, or feelings. Instead we’re directed to incredibly tricky questions about ourselves and how we would handle this dilemma - and the answers may be more elusive than you expect. Eastwood also has tremendous trust in his cast here - Jonathan A. Abrams script at first feels soapy despite the meaty drama underneath, but the best moments come from Eastwood’s more quiet and daunting climaxes all these characters reach.