Juror #2: Clint Eastwood Delivers a Tense Legal Thriller (Blu-ray)
The Film:
Renowned actor/director Clint Eastwood has made a number of remarkable films over the course of his long, celebrated career, with some of them coming well into his twilight years, including "Gran Torino" and "Richard Jewell." Now at the age of 94, he has directed what many believe will be the final film from the multiple Oscar winner, a tense legal thriller called "Juror #2," which presents a fascinating scenario that's ripe for suspense. If this is indeed to be the final film of the legend, will it be one that sends his acclaimed career off on a high note, or is it one that we'll have to file away with the lesser works of his late period?
Taking place in Savannah, Georgia, journalist Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) is summoned for jury duty in the case of the death of Kendall Carter (Francesca Eastwood). Her boyfriend, James Sythe (Gabriel Basso), was seen having a very public fight with her at a bar, with her turning up dead under a bridge later, having been struck by a blunt object. An eyewitness even claims to have seen James where Kendall's body was discovered. However, after hearing the details of the case, Justin comes to realize that he may have been the one to kill her, having accidentally struck something with his car after being at the same bar on that stormy night. Faced with a moral crisis, Justin must tread the deliberations carefully as he determines how best to proceed in this highly-unique situation.
With "Juror #2," director Clint Eastwood and screenwriter Jonathan Abrams set up a fascinating scenario that has you wondering what you would do in Justin's place. Do you come clean immediately and face the consequences? Do you try to steer the jury to a guilty verdict to save your own neck? Or do you deliberately try to hang the jury so as to pass the decision on to someone else? It's a rather strange moral dilemma that he faces, one made even more complicated by the fact that he has a pregnant wife at home that would be forced to raise the child on her own if he's found out.
Of course, this is the main way you're meant to view the film, with the audience putting themselves in Justin's shoes and deciding how they would navigate the situation, but certainly there will be others who would argue that this situation wouldn't happen in the first place because they would've handled the night of the accident much differently by putting more effort into determining what they hit & getting the police involved. However, if that had happened, then there wouldn't be much of a movie, very similar to how if characters in certain horror films had even the smallest glimmer of intelligence, there wouldn't be a whole lot to see.
Luckily, Justin's choices on that night result in a film that delivers plenty of suspense & tension as he deals not only with the jury, but also a prosecutor that starts to become a little suspicious. All of this leads to an ending that's satisfying enough, though the path it takes to get there is a little bumpy. There's one scene near the end in particular that very much needed a rewrite as it becomes a little cringey in the way that it's handled, but fortunately it doesn't do that much damage to the overall effectiveness of the film, ultimately leaving us with a well-done legal thriller that, if it should be the final film of the legendary Eastwood, is a rather respectable note to go out on.
Video/Audio:
"Juror #2" comes to Blu-ray in a 2.39:1, 1080p High Definition transfer of outstanding quality. The image is perfectly clear & crisp throughout the film's two-hour runtime, even in the darkest of scenes. Likewise, the Dolby Atmos-TrueHD audio track is marvelous, giving you all of the dialogue and music in excellent quality. Overall, as usual, Warner Bros. has done an incredible job in both departments for the film's physical release.
Special Features:
None.
Conclusion:
Clint Eastwood's "Juror #2" is a tense, suspenseful legal thriller that asks the viewer to put themselves in the shoes of the eponymous character, who must navigate a tricky & delicate situation that could see an innocent man take the blame for a crime he didn't commit. It may have a little trouble getting to its satisfying conclusion, but it's not enough to dim the overall effectiveness of this intriguing little drama.
Score: 3.5/5
Available on Blu-ray starting tomorrow.
Follow me on Twitter @BeckFilmCritic.
