In what is reported to be Clint Eastwood’s final film, Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) a juror in a murder trial, realises during the case that he killed the victim in a driving accident, and desperately attempts to get the defendant, James Sythe (Gabriel Basso) off without going to jail himself. However, it is clear that Sythe was not a nice guy. The prosecutor (Toni Collette) is sure of her case and most of the rest of the jury are convinced of his guilt.
Juror #2 has had a curious release. It has opened wide, on over 300 screens in the UK and seems to be doing decent business for this sort of film. It America, despite Eastwood having a decades long relationship with the distributors, Warner Brothers, it is being shown on only 50 screens and its box office numbers are being withheld, suggesting that there is little confidence in the product.
That is a shame as this is a fitting last film, if that is what it proves to be. It is economically told, with no frills, in typical Eastwood fashion. It is the sort of mid budget, intelligent, film making that we get so little of these days. Much credit has to go to Johnathan A. Abrams for his script that had me wavering as to whether Justin should come clean, though there is one obvious plot hole in that we have to believe that small-town-dwelling Justin has no idea about the case before he is on the jury.
In a cast full of talented actors, J.K. Simmons as a sceptical juror, Chris Messina as the defence attorney and Cedric Yarbrough as a jury member sure of his guilty decision, stand out.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10