Juror #2 (2024)
Clint Eastwood is both the actor and director I have seen the most from. I like him more as an actor, but his directing have always seemed very professional and effective to me. He is not a director that takes up much space in his films, he is letting the story take center and not directorial signatures. Which suits this movie well.
I grew to like this as time went, where I at first thought it was too much like just a modern take on 12 Angry Men. It is in many ways, but its goals are different. What irritated me the most at first was how loud and direct it told its story to form its premise with a heavily constructed setup and plot development. The movie makes damn sure we understand everything and what the moral dilemma it wants us to ponder. Which questions we should ask ourselves are sometimes outright said as lines by characters. It doesn’t leave much room to reach that point yourself.
But as the movie progressed deeper into the constructed dilemma, I accepted the somewhat artificial setup and just went along with its portrayal of the culprits and fallacies of the justice system. The simple answers aren’t always there and there will be uncomfortable consequences with whatever choice is made.
I barely raise it to 4 stars, because I think it is admirable what Clint Eastwood is doing here and while I have some qualms with how the story is told, it did successfully made me think over these hard questions it asks. Though that 4th star was almost lost by the very last scene. What an annoying and unnecessary thing to do. It could have ended better a few minutes before where he sees the patrol cars drive by.
Rating: 4