Juror No.2
A juror discovers that the man accused of murdering his girlfriend is innocent - because the juror himself has accidentally run her over that night. If he told the truth, however, he would be put in jail for vehicular manslaughter. Therefore he tries to persuade all the other jurors to vote not guilty.
Clint Eastwood uses this simple but great premise for a dissection of the meaning of justice in this thriller-drama which could be the last film of his outstanding career. While telling the story expertly, in his typical style which straight-forwardly ramps up the tension with efficiency, finely drawn characters and dark humor, Eastwood´s film also is about the perception of truth in these times.
For too long people have hidden in the all too cozy idea that “there is not one truth, everybody has their own truth”. That, of course, is dangerous and wrong. There is only one truth. But everybody has their own interpretations of it and their own preconceptions which too often could not be further from the truth.
There is only one truth here: juror no.2 has accidentally killed the young woman. But he is a recovering alcoholic and committed to his pregnant wife, about to have a baby after losing one already. So he has everything to lose.
But his attempt at getting the accused a not guilty verdict is doomed from the start. All the other jurors just hate the accused man - and surely enough, he is not likable, he is violent and everything seems to point to his actual guilt. Also, all of the jurors have their own agenda to call for a guilty verdict. Some just don’t want to spend more time in the jury box. Some project their own experiences on the accused. Then there is the juror who is a total true crime podcast fan and thinks she therefore has an expert view on the details of the case.
The jury really represents modern society here, and the way they manipulate each other into thinking they are right is a fitting indictment of the jury system. But there’s also the district attorney, angling for a political job, who is eager to get a guilty verdict for selfish reasons, and the defense attorney who drowns his frustrations in alcohol and cynicism. In an Eastwood film, nobody gets away clean. But he also does not condescend to anyone here.
The ending, while a fitting conclusion, shocks because we have come to understand and sympathize with everyone here. And it drives home what the movie is all about: justice is messy, with often devastating consequences.
Eastwood has regularly delivered box office successes and award accolades. And even if in the last decade his movies have made less money, he still could be counted on for solid returns. However, his go-to studio Warner Bros. decided to dump “Juror No.2” after only a short run in select cinemas onto their streaming platform. Here in Germany the movie will not even be released on DVD/Blu-Ray.
What a terrible shame. “Juror No.2” is one of Eastwood´s best films, in a long career of masterpieces, and it also goes to show that these days a movie which really is about the state of our society gets thrown away and hidden. Just because the money people don’t think they can sell it to the masses.
It also proves that awards are just popularity contests. Otherwise "Juror No.2“ would have been repeatedly named one of the best films of 2024.
