Recommendations of the Editorial team
Clint Eastwood’s colleague Christopher Nolan was outraged by the dealings of Warner Bros. with his film “Tenet” from 2020. His devastating sentence has entered the history books: “Some of the largest filmmakers and most important film stars were thinking about bed, for the biggest film studio, and woke up to determine that they work for the worst streaming service.”
What happened? Warner decided to radiate “Tenet” and other films shortly after a theatrical release on the VoD channel HBO Max.
“Juror #2” – victim of the system
This fate also suffered “Juror #2”, which ran in US cinemas for a week, did not receive an Oscar campaign and misunderstood on the stream-and does not even appear in this country as a DVD. Sad, because this is not just a Clint-Eeastwood film, but perhaps the last directorial work of the 95-year-old.
Guilt, silence, justice
And has there ever been a 95-year-old who made a better film? A court drama that reunited the “About a Boy” stars Toni Collette and Nicholas Hoult. And dealt with a terrible question of conscience. Juror #2 (Hoult) killed a woman in the car accident, but remains undetected. Instead, her friend is now in court for murder – and no.2 decides on his fate as a jury.
His pregnant wife is waiting for the juror at home. He is a criminal record and alcoholic, the accident happened in front of a bar. If he confessed, he would not see his baby growing up.
Clint Eastwood: From antiheroes to the judicial critic
Clint Eastwood had initially developed into a portraitist of antiheroes in the nineties of a gentle, the republican (“Million Dollar Baby”), which is supporting the euthanasia, who can master their racism even in old age (“Gran Torino”).
Heroic construction in “Jewell”, “Sully” and “Juror #2”
It was only in the ten years that he became the hardcore hagiographer of American icons. He made a solemn film about the “American Sniper” Chris Kyle, who shot Iraqi soldiers in the war and hid that Kyle hates Muslims. Later works such as “Richard Jewell” and “Sully” are similarly devout, but with one difference. They also describe the wrong way of dealing with such heroes. Wachmann Jewell was suspected by the FBI that the bomb at the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996 was suspected. According to the public prosecutor, pilot Sully must have done something wrong in the Hudson River Hudson River and lands in court.
Justice system as an enemy: Eastwood’s quiet anger
The (fictional) story of the “Juror No.2” Justin Kemp (Hoult) is an unusual choice of Eastwood. Kemp is not a hero. But is he a coward? “Jewell”, “Sully” and “Juror No. 2” united Eastwood’s doubts about the judicial system of America. It is his art to arouse pity and understanding for the lay judge Kemp – just like the hope that an innocent, the deadly friend of the dead will not receive life.
Criticism of jury and Grand Juries
Eastwood criticizes a legal system that trusts overwhelmed overwhelmed to unqualified Grand juries. Kemp knows that he will never find peace again. The other, unsuspecting eleven jurors want to end the case quickly, without thoughts of the possible innocence of the accused. You want what Juror 2 would like to have: after work, turn off your head.