Susan Granger’s review of “Juror #2” (Warner Bros.)
While Clint Eastwood’s “Juror #2” is a compelling courtroom drama, the even bigger mystery is why Warner Bros. only briefly released it in 50 theaters before it began streaming exclusively on HBO Max.
Did 94 year-old Eastwood know that his latest adult-skewing procedural was primarily meant for streaming? Produced on a frugal budget in the mid-$30 million range, it was obviously never considered a major Oscar contender.
When free-lance writer Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) is summoned to jury duty in Savannah, Georgia, he tries to get out of serving by explaining that his wife Allison (Zoey Deutch) is in the third trimester of a high-risk pregnancy. But the Judge (Amy Aquino) doesn’t consider her condition to be exemption-worthy.
So the trial begins. After a night of drinking and arguing with her boyfriend, James Sythe (Gabriel Basso), Kendall Carter (Francesca Eastwood) leaves the roadside bar in a rainstorm. Witnesses saw them fighting and remember him chasing her out to the parking lot. Later, her corpse is found on rocks beneath a nearby bridge.
Prosecutor Faith Killebrew (Toni Collette) views James’ culpability as a foregone conclusion and hopes that a ‘guilty’ murder verdict in this domestic violence case will influence her upcoming election as District Attorney.
But James steadfastly claims he’s innocent, instructing his earnest defense lawyer, Eric Resnick (Chris Messina), to refuse Faith’s plea bargain offer.
Meanwhile, recovering alcoholic Justin is confused about the details of his own automobile accident that same night and he confesses to his AA sponsor (Kiefer Sutherland) that he perhaps knows more than he’d like to admit.
Cast as other jurors, J.K. Simmons, Cedric Yarbrough, Adrienne C. Moore, Chikako Fukuyama and Leslie Bibb voice their provocative perspectives.
So whodunit? Screenwriter Jonathan Abrams and director Eastwood are ambivalent about revealing any more than absolutely necessary about justice and Justin’s moral dilemma, leading to a controversial conclusion.
FYI: Yes, 31 year-old Francesca Eastwood is Clint’s real-life daughter with actress Frances Fisher.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Juror #2” is a sturdy, serviceable 7, streaming on HBO Max.
