‘We’re only as sick as our secrets...’
Clint Eastwood is probably cinema’s greatest living icon. His first director credit (Play Misty for Me) arrived less than a year after Christopher Nolan was born. He’s directed more films (44) than Quentin Tarantino, Stanley Kubrick and Paul Thomas Anderson combined (31). He’s won two Best Picture Oscars (Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby) and that’s without mentioning his incredible output as an actor. It is not hyperbolic to say that the man is a living legend. And so, perhaps it is unsurprising that despite battling health issues and turning 94 during the shoot, Eastwood has once again produced a classic slice of contemporary filmmaking…
It’s a devilishly simple premise. Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) is a journalist and recovering alcoholic who is called up for jury duty in the case of Kendall Carter (Francesa Eastwood) – a young woman who appears to have been brutally attacked and left for dead by the side of a dark and secluded road. Pretty early on in the trial, Justin recalls that he hit a ‘deer’ one night after almost relapsing and drove off when he couldn’t find the body. It soon becomes clear that he is the murderer and an innocent man (Gabriel Basso) could end up serving a life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. The hugely talented ensemble cast includes J.K Simmons as a fellow juror and retired detective, Toni Collette as the main prosecutor of the case and Chris Messina as a public defender.
As with so many of Eastwood’s films, this is quite simply an interesting story told well. He doesn’t rely on showy special effects or unearned plot twists to get the job done. Instead, this is a character study that asks us to consider what it means to be a good person. Eastwood never asks us to pick a side where Hoult is concerned. He presents us with a normal man with all the nuance and complexities that entails, and an impossible moral quandary, and in doing so forces us to examine our own actions. Would we sacrifice ourselves to save an innocent man? Is that even the right thing? It’s impossible to know, but it’s a lot of fun trying to find out.
Juror #2 is well-written, well-acted and always compelling. It’s thrilling to see Hoult and Collette reunite under totally different circumstances to About a Boy (their previous collaboration) and if this is to be Eastwood’s swansong (although I wouldn’t bet against him going back to the well one last time) then it is a fitting end to an unrivalled cinematic career.
