Juror #2

During a time of escalating erosion in public trust for our institutions, Juror #2 asks difficult questions without supplying easy answers.

Clint Eastwood’s 40th directorial effort is an intriguing courtroom drama that finds contemporary relevance in a sturdy throwback procedural. It’s stylish and suspenseful, blurring the lines between guilt and innocence, as well as honesty and fabrication.

The title character is Justin (Nicholas Hoult), an ordinary man concealing an extraordinary secret, forcing him to confront a doozy of a moral dilemma.

As the film opens, he’s dreading jury duty, especially because his wife (Zoey Deutch) is imminently expecting the couple’s first child while enduring a high-risk pregnancy. However, once he’s picked for a high-stakes homicide trial, Justin also feels obligated.

The defendant (Gabriel Basso) is accused of brutally killing his girlfriend after a fight on a rainy night at a local bar. He proclaims his innocence through his public defender (Chris Messina), who tries to poke holes in the police investigation.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor (Toni Collette) is actively campaigning to become a district attorney, and knows a murder conviction could offer a boost in the polls.

As the trial adjourns and heads to the jury deliberation room, a quick guilty verdict would allow everyone to go home. Yet Justin finds his opinion swayed when he discovers a personal connection to the case he can’t share. A curious ex-cop (J.K. Simmons) further complicates matters, as does advice from Justin’s attorney friend (Kiefer Sutherland).

For those who buy into the series of coincidences that shape the premise, the film shifts or loyalties amid the twisty character dynamics and ulterior motives.

Rookie screenwriter Jonathan Abrams scrutinizes ethical and procedural flaws in the criminal justice system without turning heavy-handed or pedantic.

Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road) brings depth and conviction to a role that never feels fully defined, as a deeply conflicted man trying to maintain his integrity while preserving his own self-interests, first and foremost.

As you would expect from an Eastwood film, Juror #2 is polished and efficient. Yet while exploring the many layers of guilt, from legal to conscious, “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” isn’t so clear-cut.

Rated PG-13, 113 minutes.