The Brilliance of Juror#2: Review
Why I love this movie so much SPOILERS!!
Clint Eastwood, a man who has been known prolifically in Hollywood for the past 7 decades, through performance and direction, a multiple-time Oscar winner, and no matter who you ask, seemingly a legend of the ages known by all. So why was Juror #2 swept under the rug?? Well, the short answer and the one everyone thinks is that David Zaslav is evil, and yeah. Sure but maybe it could also be considered that the reason for this is because this is the type of movie where in today's climate, most studios unfortunately probably wouldn’t have enough faith that it would bring in cash for them compared to a decade or two ago. Clint’s latest follows Justin Kemp (played by Nicholas Hoult) is serving as a Juror in the murder case in that he may or may not have had a direct involvement which leads him to have to choose between true justice or the convicted staying behind bars forever. The precise theory I hinted towards earlier is honestly one of the main reasons I love this movie so much, it's not truly groundbreaking direction, or anything truly awe-inspiring that will get you to jump out of your seat., it's just one of the oldest masters of their craft back making an old-fashioned court case drama that honestly speaking doesn’t even fully surround the case itself but more the tension and morality of every person in this country when it comes to the fundamentals of our judicial system and I think that’s great.
Probably, at least for me, the true anchor of this film that is able to carry this film to these lofty heights is the incredible turn from the lead Nicholas Hoult (as Justin Kemp). Obviously, he’s already an extremely talented young actor with so many great opportunities ahead of him but this is the first time (at least that I have seen) where the entirety of a film he’s in does not work unless he delivers and he does it in spades. The way his anxious thoughts and mannerisms are portrayed throughout are so well done and add to the percolating, rising tension that simmers from scene after scene. I think in particular the two standout scenes he has are during a scene he has with his wife (played by Zoey Deutch) in the film in their parking garage discussing if he really was the one who did it, after lawyer Faith Killebrew (Toni Collette) visits their house after having doubts about her side on the case, and one of the last scenes of the film (not the very ending) where Justin sits on a park bench with Faith trying to justify why the outcome of James scythe being found guilty was maybe for the best despite knowing he was the one that did it. In the former, you truly get a firm grip of what he’s been through in his past with his drinking problem, Deutch asking him “Did you stop at rowdy’s hideaway?” Having to be adamant that he didn’t drink and was only still hurting from the miscarriage they had with their two twins before they had another child, desperately convinces her of this by swearing to it his eyes screaming of full guilt and horror of finally truly coming to terms that he really might have done this. An excellent scene that is elevated from this performance and made further into more moments of this film that would feel like pretty basic drama stuff if it wasn’t for Hoult, hence being the anchor.
I think my feelings towards loving this film are further amplified by the questions it brings up for the viewer to think about in the lead-up and end of the film itself. As Justin Kemp talks to Faith on the bench outside of the courthouse talking back and forth between each other, Faith very much insinuates without out right stating that she knows Kemp was the one who knocked the girl off the bridge while he tries to also insinuate that it was an accident and that he’s just a regular guy. This type of thinking undoubtedly just applies to the movie's entirety through conversations by the jury members to an audience member's observations of the film. Would we allow Kemp, an everyday family man taking care of a baby, to undeniably take the fall while someone who’s so much easier to pin it all on from the facts of former abuse and relationship complications is easier to see as the culprit? How far are we truly willing to go when it comes to learning the full story and getting justice? Is it more just seeing the one who really did it behind bars or letting a known criminal who did not do it back on the streets? All of these are thoughts and questions brought up by the movie itself and while it isn’t the most subtle it makes you want to discuss everything about this puzzling situation of morality and I think some of the best dramas are able to accomplish that. The ending however, shatters all of these questions as Faith comes knocking at Kemp’s door, insinuating that she’s not going to let it go and that justice charts everything.
This film really does get the gears turning but it's just as much of a good old drama as it is a thought-provoking one, it's not absolute perfection obviously like stated before it's not super duper new or anything, I do understand the criticism of a lot of the cast that aren’t the main stars do feel a bit out of place here and there and more of a surprise or bigger visual flare direction wise would’ve aided it, but at the end of the day Juror #2 is just as good as it needs to be in those aspects added within everything else. I guess you could say in a more JUST world, there would be way more Juror #2’s around the entire world to watch.