Surely this is the last one? Can even Steel-eyed Clint pull off another?
People were saying it as far back as Gran Torino. The man is ninety-five years old. I hope I can even walk around the block if I reach that age.
I'm hard pressed to think of another director whose career so successfully alternated between the drive-in and the arthouse. The Leone westerns, Dirty Harry, and his redneck movies were hugely popular at the outdoor theaters. Movies like Bird; White Hunter, Black Heart; and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil rival films from the best directors in movie history. He's done silly pictures and deadly serious movies with social relevance. Clint did an episode of Amazing Stories and, always a jazz fan, he directed a Diane Krall music video.
By my count Juror #2 is the fortieth movie directed by Mr. Clint Eastwood. I'm grateful to say that while it may not rank among his very finest achievements, it's a damned good film.
Justice is at the center of Clint's movie career. From dispensing it through Harry Calahan's deadly .44 Magnum to the rough version of frontier justice in the Western films. Clint righted wrongs from the start of his acting career when he went to war with a giant spider in 1955's Tarantula.
Our legal system is questioned more than once in Juror #2. Flawed as it is, it's the best we've got. Questions are made about the differences, if any, in truth and justice. Are the lines of what's right and the law sometimes blurry? Innocent people are sometimes prosecuted and the guilty walk away clean all too often.
We are expected to take a logistic leap in Juror #2. A man is called to jury duty for a murder trial. He also may be the real guilty party. He doesn't even know exactly what happened on a dark and rainy night when a woman was killed. It's a stretch, but mad coincidences do happen. I've seen stranger stories in the news.
Nicholas Hoult plays an alcoholic in recovery. On the night in question he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Almost succumbing to an impulse to drink, he leaves the roadhouse and hits something by a bridge. The weather is foul and unaware of what exactly happened, he drives away.
An ex gang member is accused of murdering his girlfriend. They fought in the bar and she stomped away in the rain. He follows her in his car.
The jury is inclined to believe his guilt, despite inconclusive evidence. Hoult breaks down their resolve and plants doubt in their heads, even while potentially damning himself.
Hoult is excellent in a tough, demanding role. Toni Collette once again proves that she is one of the best and most underrated actresses working today. She should have gotten more honors for her performance in Hereditary, but Oscar-voting snoots tend to dismiss horror movies.
J.K. Simmons is typically convincing in a secondary role. Kiefer Sutherland is also very good as an A.A. friend of juror #2.
There are no easy, clear-cut answers in Juror #2. The ending leaves more questions than providing any real closure. It's a complicated situation for all the principle characters.
If this really is it for Clint, he is going out on a very high note. I salute the man and his contributions to our society's culture.
Written by Mark Sieber
People were saying it as far back as Gran Torino. The man is ninety-five years old. I hope I can even walk around the block if I reach that age.
I'm hard pressed to think of another director whose career so successfully alternated between the drive-in and the arthouse. The Leone westerns, Dirty Harry, and his redneck movies were hugely popular at the outdoor theaters. Movies like Bird; White Hunter, Black Heart; and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil rival films from the best directors in movie history. He's done silly pictures and deadly serious movies with social relevance. Clint did an episode of Amazing Stories and, always a jazz fan, he directed a Diane Krall music video.
By my count Juror #2 is the fortieth movie directed by Mr. Clint Eastwood. I'm grateful to say that while it may not rank among his very finest achievements, it's a damned good film.
Justice is at the center of Clint's movie career. From dispensing it through Harry Calahan's deadly .44 Magnum to the rough version of frontier justice in the Western films. Clint righted wrongs from the start of his acting career when he went to war with a giant spider in 1955's Tarantula.
Our legal system is questioned more than once in Juror #2. Flawed as it is, it's the best we've got. Questions are made about the differences, if any, in truth and justice. Are the lines of what's right and the law sometimes blurry? Innocent people are sometimes prosecuted and the guilty walk away clean all too often.
We are expected to take a logistic leap in Juror #2. A man is called to jury duty for a murder trial. He also may be the real guilty party. He doesn't even know exactly what happened on a dark and rainy night when a woman was killed. It's a stretch, but mad coincidences do happen. I've seen stranger stories in the news.
Nicholas Hoult plays an alcoholic in recovery. On the night in question he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Almost succumbing to an impulse to drink, he leaves the roadhouse and hits something by a bridge. The weather is foul and unaware of what exactly happened, he drives away.
An ex gang member is accused of murdering his girlfriend. They fought in the bar and she stomped away in the rain. He follows her in his car.
The jury is inclined to believe his guilt, despite inconclusive evidence. Hoult breaks down their resolve and plants doubt in their heads, even while potentially damning himself.
Hoult is excellent in a tough, demanding role. Toni Collette once again proves that she is one of the best and most underrated actresses working today. She should have gotten more honors for her performance in Hereditary, but Oscar-voting snoots tend to dismiss horror movies.
J.K. Simmons is typically convincing in a secondary role. Kiefer Sutherland is also very good as an A.A. friend of juror #2.
There are no easy, clear-cut answers in Juror #2. The ending leaves more questions than providing any real closure. It's a complicated situation for all the principle characters.
If this really is it for Clint, he is going out on a very high note. I salute the man and his contributions to our society's culture.
Written by Mark Sieber
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