Justice is seldom to be found in this world — just look at the release ofClint Eastwood’s presumed final film,Juror #2, which is being disgracefully dumped into apaltry 50 theaters nationwideby Warner Bros. Coincidentally enough, Eastwood’s swan song happens to be a courtroom drama where justice is a failed promise. The film is a tight, classically satisfying mid-budget drama with recognizable stars that most people willunfortunately have to wait until it hits streaming to see.
Eastwood, who has specialized in directing films about heroic figures being intensely scrutinized and wronged by institutional forces,once again deconstructed another trusted American system in U.S. law.This time, the system is personal to Eastwood. InJuror #2, the 93-year-old director is grappling with the reality that the judicial system might be broken, and all that we can deliberate on is our conflicted morality.
The Judicial System Fails To Provide Justice in Clint Eastwood’s ‘Juror #2’
Eastwood’s late-period films, includingSully,The 15:17 to Paris, andRichard Jewell, are sturdy biopics that seem like made-for-TV fodder based on their minimalist visual style and scope, but on a closer read, they are some of the most probing films about contemporary America and our established institutions. After poking holes at the flaws and unscrupulous tendencies of themedia and FBI inRichard Jewell,Eastwood uses a familiar courtroom thriller akin to a John Grisham paperback novel to reflect on how justice is anything but blind.Juror #2followsJustin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult), a family man serving on the jury for a trial about a murdered young woman. After discovering that he was responsible for the death, as he fatally struck the woman on a rainy night, Justin wrestles with his morality and whether to confess to the truth.
There’s something poetic about Eastwood’s reflection on criminal justice.Eastwood’s most iconic character, “Dirty” Harry Callahan, was defined by his devil-may-care approach to due process and staying within the law to apprehend suspects. The director who onceshot first and asked questionslater on the screen is closing his storied career in cinema by showing how rushing to judgments and relying on subjective hunches will undermine not just proper justice but our moral standards. Due to Justin withholding his crucial secret, the judicial process dissolves into a morality fable. After weeks of painstaking deliberation on an increasingly perplexing case, the jury ultimately reaches a verdict rooted in sentimentality rather than hard facts, as the defendant, James Michael Sythe (Gabriel Basso), is convicted. The jury, while acknowledging the evidence is flimsy, decides that Sythe is a bad guy, so they don’t need to think about it too hard.
The Justice System Dissolves Into a Morality Fable in ‘Juror #2’
Eastwood’s other famous archetype, the Western outlaw,made him a global superstar. InJuror #2, the closest stand-in we have to a vigilante is Justin’s fellow juror, Harold (J.K. Simmons), a retired police detective who suspects there is a missing piece astray. Harold goes above the law and digs into the case himself, searching the crime scene and unearthing accident reports. Upon discovery, the judge dismisses him from the jury. While this is a clear violation of jury duties,one can’t help but recognize Eastwood’s commentary on the intentional efforts to hinder justice.Trials are shown as an oppressive environment for the jurors, who are treated like prisoners and are left with a grave responsibility without getting the full scope of the case. Judicial standards are gradually disbanded, as seen when prosecutor Faith Killebrew (Toni Collette) actively seeks new evidence during deliberation.
No matter the genre or setting, mostEastwood movies are morality fables. His masterpiece,Unforgiven, follows a violent outlaw who convinces himself he is reformed despite possessing the same immoral urges. WithJuror #2, the reliance on subjective justice is especially damning due to the heavily-structured nature of the trial system,yet there’s nothing it can do to tempt Justin to confess his sin and acquit a wronged suspect in Sythe.Both lawyers, Killebrew and Eric Resnick (Chris Messina), are stalwart in their duties. However, their respective cases are obstructed by thefailures of the police investigation. Resnick, a low-rate public defender who admittedly argues in favor of guilty clients, pleads with his colleague that Sythe is innocent. Killebrew grows skeptical, but she is also devoid of a smoking gun solely because Justin refuses to confess, just so he can return to his comfortable life as a new father.
IfJuror #2is Clint Eastwood’s swan song, its final shot is both a soulful and haunting conclusion to a legendary career. Following the trial, Killebrew discovers the truth and arrives at Justin’s doorstep to glare into his eyes. She may not be able to convict him, but he had better not move on with his life without thinking about the repercussions of his silence.
A family man serving as a juror in a high-profile murder trial faces a harrowing moral dilemma when he realizes he might be responsible for the victim’s death. As his internal struggle intensifies, he must decide whether to influence the jury’s verdict to save himself or seek justice for the accused.
Juror #2is currently playing in limited theaters. Grab your tickets below.
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