‘Juror #2’ Review: Nicholas Hoult and Toni Collette Excel in Clint Eastwood’s Acerbic, Ambivalent Courtroom Drama

Anyone who has served on a jury, or even been summoned to participate in jury selection, can recall the inevitable tension that direct participation in the justice system can provoke. Countless others might recognize the distinct hallmarks of the experience from an abundance of movies and TV episodes: the bailiff’s courtroom call to order, the jury selection process and the unpredictable uncertainties of the trial process.

But while the often-static setting of Juror #2, Clint Eastwood’s latest feature, will no doubt feel familiar, the narrative twists of Jonathan Abrams’ agile script add fresh perspective to the courtroom drama. Eastwood’s long list of awards and near-incomparable professional longevity will certainly stir interest in Warner Bros.’ Nov. 1 bow, even if the film itself remains a rather understated addition to the Oscar winner’s considerable career.

Debuting his newest releases at AFI Fest has become something of a ritual for the 94-year-old multi-hyphenate, who previously presented the Matt Damon sports drama Invictus; J. Edgar, starring Leonardo DiCaprio; Oscar nominee American Sniper with Bradley Cooper; and most recently, 2019’s Richard Jewell at the annual event. Although he wasn’t present at Juror #2’s world premiere, Eastwood’s palpable legacy inevitably informs the account of recovering alcoholic Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult), a staff writer for a Savannah, Georgia magazine, who gets summoned for jury duty.

Justin has turned his life around since meeting and marrying Allison (Zoey Deutch) four years earlier, and the couple are especially anxious for the arrival of their new baby after a miscarriage the year prior. The anticipation is a constant source of distraction as he’s selected to serve on a high-profile murder trial: Faith Killebrew (Toni Collette), a county prosecutor currently campaigning for district attorney, has charged James Sythe (Gabriel Basso) with malice murder in the death of his girlfriend Kendall Carter (Francesca Eastwood) — an offense that could land him in prison for life without parole.

As the details of the case emerge during the hearing, Justin finds the account to sound strangely familiar. Sythe is accused of killing Carter the previous year, allegedly by bludgeoning her to death along a dark, rainy rural roadside after a confrontation at a bar, though authorities have never recovered the weapon. The incident is alleged to have occurred at exact same location, and on the exact same date, where Justin hit a deer in his Toyota 4Runner after leaving the very same bar where Sythe and Carter had been arguing. Justin claims he wasn’t drinking at the time, despite feeling distraught over Allison’s miscarriage. But recounting the events of that night to supportive attorney Larry Lasker (Kiefer Sutherland), Justin speculates: “Maybe I didn’t hit a deer.”

The scenes that comprise the jury deliberations bear perhaps too much resemblance to Sydney Lumet’s 1957 classic 12 Angry Men, with only Justin initially opposed to conviction. As he strives to convince the other group that reasonable doubt remains regarding Sythe’s guilt, he’s driving a risky personal agenda as well. His adamant opposition to conviction begins to raise questions among fellow jurors, who nonetheless agree that the case against Sythe isn’t as clear-cut as Killebrew contended during the trial.

Eastwood, who’s demonstrated a career-long preoccupation with society’s struggle over conflicting morals, mostly focuses on Justin’s moral dilemma rather than his legal precarity. Repeatedly appealing to the audience with the implied rhetorical question, “What would you do?” the filmmakers successfully distract from the issues that a full-blown procedural approach would be forced to confront. It’s an effective, if ultimately less satisfying, approach that misleads the audience but successfully avoids outright betrayal.

The tactic is largely successful due to the strengths of the cast and the familiarity of the confusion following an auto accident. Hoult’s Justin suffers from repeated flashbacks throughout the trial that compound the trauma of the incident, which the actor conveys with an understated but increasingly frayed restraint. Meanwhile, as Killebrew, who gradually emerges as the narrative’s antagonist, begins to see her reputation and political career hinging on the outcome of the case, Collette incrementally dials up the character’s intensity.

As with many Eastwood pictures, an outstanding supporting cast underlines the lead performances, from Chris Messina’s determined public defender advocating for Basso’s bewildered client, to J.K. Simmons as an excused juror with a hidden agenda.

Even the smaller roles are deftly etched, including Cedric Yarbrough, Adrienne C. Moore and Leslie Bibb as contrarian jury members and a piquantly prickly Amy Aquino as the trial judge — although an underused Deutch gets short shrift as Justin’s long-suffering spouse.

Eastwood’s long-time team of collaborators, including editor Joel Cox, cinematographer Yves Bélanger and production designer Ron Reiss, along with producers Tim Moore and Jessica Meier, have ably contributed to crafting a distinctive picture in the classic Hollywood dramatic style. Eastwood sometimes relies excessively on the familiar technique of close-ups to imply his characters’ inner conflicts. But actors of this caliber just as easily reveal adequate emotion with a tapping foot or twitching finger as they do another tight shot on their facial features.

Warner Bros. Discovery originally planned Juror #2 for streaming before the company switched the title to a PG-13 theatrical release. While this will qualify the feature for Academy Awards consideration, it will reportedly only receive a limited run of fewer than 50 theaters nationwide.

Nonetheless, the timing of Juror #2‘s release thrusts it directly into the year’s awards conversation and, as ever, Eastwood will remain a strong contender for consideration.