Film Review: Juror #2

Courtroom dramas have always been popular with Hollywood cinema but in his 95^th year, veteran film maker and star, Clint Eastwood, has served up a brilliantly thought-provoking and well-made film.  Juror #2 boasts an all-star cast that includes JK Simmons, Toni Collette and Kiefer Sutherland in supporting roles with Nicholas Hoult playing the title role.  The story following a court case in which a couple’s pub brawl preceded one of their deaths on a quiet road and the other stands accused of her murder. 

During the proceedings, Hoult (a young, married father-to-be) realises that he was in the same bar that night and could possibly be responsible for the young woman’s accidental death.  According to the film’s portrayal of the American legal system, to speak up and say that he is responsible will result in his incarceration for homicide.  However, if he says nothing, the accused will face a life sentence.

Eastwood’s film presents a clever moral dilemma and some sterling performances from the cast.  It highlights the value and the flaws of the justice system, challenges prejudices and human preconceptions, and leaves the audience thinking.  It makes for a gripping thriller.  However, we are faced with a situation in which justice must be paid but, from a Christian perspective, that justice should always be tempered with mercy and compassion.  Juror#2 is quality film-making at its best and if it happens to be Clint Eastwood’s final stint in the director’s chair, he leaves us with a powerful piece that perhaps reflects his own pondering on the final judgement that awaits us all after death, as the camera lingers on the words: “In God We Trust”.

Review by

Stephen Callaghan