If you’re a fan of Clint Eastwood the filmmaker, and how can you not be, it’s been a rough stretch. Your mileage may vary, but I don’t think he’s made a truly great movie since the wildly underrated (and underseen) “Letters from Iwo Jima.” I’ve warmed to “Gran Torino” over the years, but after that the movies –- even the mostly good ones –- have been marked by indifferent craftsmanship (who can forget Bradley Cooper making the fake baby’s arm move in what was supposed to be one of the most emotionally charged scenes in “American Sniper”).
We know Eastwood is renowned for delivering movies ahead of schedule and under budget, so it was hard not to conclude that his drive to keep working, to keep moving, to keep from doing nothing as he passed into his nineties (he’s currently 94) was more important to him than making a finely wrought film.
Acknowledging the caveat that trailers are never, ever an accurate indication of a film’s eventual quality, it’s been so long since Eastwood made a truly compelling drama that I’m going to allow myself to get excited over the just-released trailer for his latest film “Juror No. 2.” Working with a dynamite cast that includes Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, and J.K. Simmons, it looks like he might have a banger of a courtroom thriller on his hands. Take a look at the trailer and tell me I’m wrong!
Nicholas Hoult faces a life-changing dilemma in Juror #2
Written by Jonathan Abrams (whose most noteworthy credit prior to this was as an associate producer on the Stallone-Schwarzenegger two-hander “Escape Plan”), “Juror #2” has the feel of a John Grisham bestseller, which means it comes off as intriguing and preposterous in equal measure. The hook: Hoult plays an ordinary man with a pregnant wife who, one fateful night, accidentally hits something with his car while driving down a dark wooded road. He can’t find anything, and assumes he possibly ran into a deer. Months later, he’s summoned for jury duty, and finds himself empaneled on a murder trial centered on the victim’s body being discovered in the exact area he had his accident.
The details are hazy in the trailer. I assume they’re charging the boyfriend with vehicular homicide in the death of his then girlfriend. So, naturally, I have to wonder why Hoult, who left the scene in apparent good faith (he looked around and couldn’t find anything), doesn’t just give himself up. Having seen more than my share of movies, and possessing full faith in Eastwood’s taste for what makes an A-plus thriller (e.g. “Play Misty for Me,” “Tightrope,” and the ridiculously undervalued “Blood Work”), my guess is that the trailer is holding more than a little something back.
Mostly, I’m knocked out by this cast. Along with the aforementioned actors, Eastwood’s also got Kiefer Sutherland, Zoey Deutch, Cedric Yarbrough and the always terrific Chris Messina along for the ride. He’s also reteamed with cinematographer Yves Bélanger, and has hired Mark Mancina (“Speed,” “Bad Boys”) to score the film. More than anything, I’m just thrilled he’s working within the confines of a classical genre piece; he’s often at his very best when he’s adding new wrinkles to or full-on subverting established forms. I’m not expecting another “Unforgiven” here, but there will hopefully be fewer opportunities for Eastwood to meander as he did on “Cry Macho” and “The Mule.”
From legendary filmmaker Clint Eastwood, comes Juror #2. Only in Theaters November 1. Get tickets now. #Juror2Movie https://t.co/t5q427Fd9a pic.twitter.com/lD2rNJoRqS
— Warner Bros. Pictures (@wbpictures) October 1, 2024
We’ll find out when “Juror #2” hits theaters on November 1, 2024.