Juror #2
November 28, 2024 by admin_name
Juror #2
Released 2024
www.ink2quill.com
“Juror #2” is a courtroom drama, thriller produced by Jeremy Bell, David M. Bernstein, Clint Eastwood, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Adam Goodman, Peter Oberth, Matt Skiena, Tim Moore and Jessica Meier. It was directed by Clint Eastwood and the screenplay was written by Jonathan A. Abrams. It stars Nicholas Hoult, Zoey Deutch, Megan Meiduch, Toni Collette, Melanie Harrison, Adrienne C. Moore, Drew Scheid, Leslie Bibb, Hedy Nasser, Phil Biedron, Cedric Yarbrough, Bria Brimmer, J.K. Simmons, Chris Messina, Amy Aquino, Gabriel Basso, Chikako Fukuyama, Zele Avradopoulos, Onix Serrano, Jason Coviello, Rebecca Koon, Francesca Eastwood, Katelynn E. Newberry, Rachel Walters, Keifer Sutherland, Scott Alan Smith, Javier Vazquez Jr., Kurt Yue, Tom Thon, RaVal Davies, Gabriel Butler, Kevin Saunders and many more.
“Juror #2” is a courtroom, drama, thriller that takes place in Savannah, Georgia and deals with Juror #2 named Justin Kemp, played by Nicholas Hoult, who is a journalist and recovering alcoholic called for jury duty on a murder trial. The case is of a man accused of murdering his girlfriend on a night of drinking and arguing with her. At first everyone assumes the convicted man, James Sythe, played by Gabriel Basso, is guilty. But Justin holds out and tries to convince the other jurors that James that there is a shadow of a doubt. Why would he do that? Well, Justin has a secret. And that secret has him walking a very fine line between exposing the fact that he knows more about the court case and while keeping his alcoholism under control. This story is a far more complicated moral tale than what it seems at first glance.
This story is more complicated than it might seem at first glance. Juror #2, Justin is a deeply flawed man. He is a man who is able to flim-flam his way through adversity and problems and in this case he is able to have someone else, an innocent man, pay for his serious crime. The crime of murder. This fact bothers me to no end. I hear people say things like “Well. What was he supposed to do?” As if Justin freeing himself from this bad situation is of prime importance. It’s interesting how many people forget that an innocent man is condemned to a terrible fate for something he did not do. And it is also important to note how uncaring, sloppy and selfish most of the other jurors were. If anything it’s a great reveal how much harm apathy, stupidity and deception do in society because the adverse effects of all this are not done playing out in the lives of all these people. There are consequences and ripple effects to actions and these people don’t care or don’t have a clue.
Now sure, the man being judged whose name is James Sythe, played by Gabriel Basso, is no saint. He is in a rocky relationship with a woman named Kendall Carter, played by Francesca Eastwood, who is also clearly flawed and abusive. However, she did not deserve to die either. Her death was after all an accident. One very interesting story element was how people’s minds followed the path of stereotypes and social conditioning. Most of the jurors and law officials were not willing to see things objectively. They only followed society stereotypes and I believe that is probably how trials work. In my opinion, that must be why so many innocent people are sucked into the criminal justice system. Playing on stereotypes will determine whether or not the people judging you like you or not. And if they like you then they are more willing to believe what you say or give you a slap on the wrist for a punishment.
This story reveals what a flawed justice system we have because of the people who are working in it. Maybe this is a tacit acceptance of an AI model criminal justice system that might work better. I don’t know but it is coming. Once they find the right model that costs less and looks shiny from the outside then it’s a done deal. Anyway this film gives you a lot to think about.
I also hate the argument of people saying “Well, he has a wife and kid. If he goes to jail he will not see his kid grow up.” To that comment I have to answer that he will eventually get to see his wife and kid when he gets out, even if it’s many years later, and his life will probably be much harder. That is what he is really trying to avoid – A harder life. Now, he may get many years in prison because he is a recovering alcoholic who committed manslaughter after leaving a bar. This fact would probably get him more years but like I said, he is more worried about living a harder life as an ex felon in society. At least that is my opinion. He might also be afraid of surviving prison for years and that is a legitimate worry. I keep thinking of the innocent man who has his life destroyed for a crime he did not commit.
This film has a interesting messages on how our society treats addicts as a whole. It also is a great reveal on how the criminal justice system does not really know the people it swallows up, their circumstances or even the type of people they really are, (in so many cases at least), and how that ignorance causes so much distress in society. People who deserve a kind of leniency do not get it and innocent people are sometimes convicted in error or malice and nothing is done. This is very serious.
In this case sending an innocent James Sythe to prison for a murder he did not commit because he was labelled a domestic violence abuser is just wrong. The prosecutor had the wrong idea about him and so was fooled by a clever Juror # 2. Also, in a more perfect world Justin would have been able to explain the situation to authorities, and even apologize, tell the truth, and get a less drastic punishment. The family of the poor woman that was killed would have had a better peace of mind and quite frankly they deserved nothing less. They deserved to know the truth. There is a huge difference between someone being killed in cold blood and that same person being the victim of an accident. This is a sad story with an ending where nobody got justice. Not the family and relatives of the poor woman killed, not the falsely accused James Sythe. And Juror # 2 does not tell the truth. In my opinion, everybody loses in this story.
This story is so disturbing in many ways but it’s not a gore fest. This film left me bothered for days after watching.
John Ink2Quill
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