A moral conundrum: Juror #2 a taut courtroom film

Juror 2 is about a man named Justin Kemp (played by actor Nicholas Hoult) who is chosen for a jury on a murder trial, only to realize he may be responsible for the murder that was committed. 

The story centers on a couple who fought at a bar called Rowdy’s Hideaway, with the woman then storming off in the rain and disappearing in the night, later to be found dead and battered in a creek underneath an overpass with a railing. Her boyfriend is charged with her murder, with everyone assuming that of course, he did it. But then Kemp realizes, he was at the bar that night, witnessed the fight, and drove off later, only to, with a loud thud, hit “a deer.” 

A deer.

He got out of his car and looked over the edge of the overpass, but could see nothing, so he went home and told his wife he had hit “a deer.” Because Kemp is a recovering alcoholic who under stress, went to the bar and bought the drink but never actually drank it, he is also afraid to tell anyone where he was that night, at the bar, so his wife just thinks he was at a meeting.

After realizing he probably killed Kendall Carter (Francesca Eastwood), Kemp attempts to persuade the other jurors that it wasn’t Kendall’s boyfriend James Micheal Sythe (Gabriel Basso) who did it, hoping to get the innocent man off for the murder without having to take the blame himself.

People from the jury of course, initially believe that Kendall’s boyfriend James killed her because of his shady past. The tension of the film is centered around a number of moral questions: What would you do if you were watching someone else about to take the fall for a crime you committed? Is it possible to secure freedom for yourself and someone else at the same time, or does someone ultimately have to fall? Can there be someone who deserves freedom more?  

Juror #2 was directed by Clint Eastwood and was written by Jonathan A. Abrams.  There are many mixed opinions on Juror #2, with people being amazed that a 94-year-old could produce such a movie. 

The New York Times is fascinated by the fact that the movie is produced like an old detective film from the 90s. Critics noted that Clint Eastwood seemed to rush then slow down the movie, noting, “Eastwood takes a bit of time to find his groove. The opener is by turns, pokey and rushed and you can almost feel his impatience as he lines up the story’s pieces.”  The NYT critic also enjoyed how the writer Jonathan A. Abrams made both sides have weak cases, made the defendant seem guilty, and made the autopsy inconclusive so Kendall’s cause of death could’ve been an accident. 

My opinion on Juror #2 is that it was an incredible movie,  a 10/10. I love criminal justice movies. Clint Eastwood may have started the movie slowly, but towards the middle of the movie, Eastwood really built up the movie and had me guessing how this could end. 

For example, when Harold Chicowski (J.K. Simmons) an ex-policeman on the jury guessed it might be a hit and run, he started gathering documents of cars that were repaired that month for headlight and bumper damage, despite the fact that jurors, under no circumstances, can investigate crimes they are serving on juries for.

I was in shock and often found myself close to the screen because I thought it was over for Kemp. 

Another part of the movie I enjoyed was when all of the jurors were in the jury room and deciding if James, the boyfriend, was guilty or not guilty. Leslie Bibb, one of the jurors did an amazing job leading the group. Many of them were getting too emotional or stressed and wondered why they were second-guessing about convicting James. 

For example, juror Cedric Yarbrough shared an emotional story about losing a loved one due to gang violence and how it traumatized him and increased his hatred for gangs. That added to his hate towards James because he was previously affiliated with a gang. 

Overall I enjoyed watching Juror #2 and hope that Clint Eastwood can make another part of this movie, next time not leaving it on a cliffhanger, as he did here. Rush to see it; you won’t believe how it ends.