Juror No 2 (2024)

Plot of Juror No 2: Justin Kemp, a journalist whose partner is in the final stages of a difficult pregnancy, is called for jury service and despite the fact that he needs to be with his partner is selected for a murder trial. Being tried is a man called Sythe, who has been seen in a violent exchange in a bar with his girlfriend, and follows her away from the premises into the rainy darkness. The police case is that he hit her over the head, and she fell over a bridge into a streambed. Justin realises that he had hit something on his way home at the same location, but had thought it was a deer. He might have hit the young woman. Another juror, Harold. had once been a policeman and feels that the investigators have not considered alternatives. While most of the jury wish to find Sythe guilty just to get home, Justin feels unable to do so and so begins to convince others that the case is flawed, but as time passes will the spotlight focus on him?

Content: No sex or nudity, some drinking and of course when a couple get drunk they become violent towards each other. Justin is a recovering alcoholic, and although he was in the same bar did not drink the whiskey he had purchased. But he does not want Ally, his partner, to know where he had been. Faith the prosecutor is canvasing for the role of DA, and after the Sythe court case wins the position. Harold, the ex-policeman starts to investigate damaged and repaired vehicles, but is thrown of the jury for doing so. A lot of time spent in court listening to evidence, and also in the jury room. Flashbacks to how it went for the participants on the rainy night when the death took place.

A View: We, my wife and I are suckers for a good courtroom drama, and have always enjoyed Clint Eastwood’s offerings, so we were all set to enjoy this one. We were not disappointed. If the truth comes out, everyone has something to lose. It worth paying the cinema price for it, if you can find it, due to its limited release in some places. 

Fun Fact: Toni Collette played Nicholas Hoult’s mother in ‘About a Boy’ 22 years ago.