Juror #2 is an intriguing, but slow-paced film directed by Clint Eastwood, which was released in 2024. It was written by Jonathan Abrams and stars Nicholas Hoult in the lead role. Other familiar cast members include Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons, Amy Aquino, Leslie Bibb, and Keifer Sutherland.

Hoult plays Justin Kemp, a recovering alcoholic who is selected to serve on a jury for a murder trial. A man is on trial for murdering his girlfriend on a stormy night after the two of them had a troubling argument at a bar. The woman’s battered body was left under a bridge. As the evidence unfolds, Justin recalls that he was at that bar that night and witnessed the altercation. On his way home, he thought he had hit a deer. As more information is released, Justin becomes more convinced that he may have been the one who accidentally killed the woman, but his life has recently turned for the better lately. His wife is about to have a baby, and he has managed to maintain his sobriety for some time. Justin tries to manipulate the jury into avoiding convicting an innocent man without sacrificing his own life, but the matter becomes more complicated when a former homicide detective serving on the jury starts his own investigation. Hoult is about to discover the challenges and consequences of trying to compromise when it comes to morality and justice.

In spite of the extraordinary amount of coincidence to make this plot plausible, I did find the dilemma rather intriguing. Hoult isn’t a guy who is being flippant about the path of deception and manipulation. He seems genuinely guilt-ridden about the situation he caused, but he allows his instinct for self-preservation to take the wheel.

Meanwhile, the case has gotten some local attention, and the prosecutor, played by Toni Collette, has aspirations for becoming the district attorney, and the case could be the ticket to that goal.

The performances are quite compelling and believable, but that’s hardly surprising considering the talent Eastwood has to work with. The film does feel a little slow at times. In real life, trials can get rather tedious, even if it’s a murder case, but that reality doesn’t need to be translated to the screen. The business about a former homicide detective making it onto the jury seems a little hard to swallow even if there is an attempt at an explanation for what appears to be a pretty big lapse in competence from both attorneys.

I did appreciate that the characters were kind of layered. The prosecutor may be rather ambitious and single-minded, but she was not unethical or unlikeable. One can easily feel some sympathy for Justin’s plight even though he basically caused the whole mess, albeit unintentionally.

I am hesitant to declare this as one of Eastwood’s best films, but I do think it’s a good one overall. If this one does turn out to be Eastwood’s last cinematic contribution, it’s one he can still take some pride in.