Does a small-scale human drama now qualify as an eccentric, unclassifiable studio release? Even if it’s directed by Hollywood icon and Oscar-winning filmmaker Clint Eastwood? Taking in the nonagenarian’s latest film, “Juror #2,” starring a no-slouch cast including Nicholas Hoult, J.K. Simmons and Toni Collette (but getting unceremoniously dumped into a fistful of theaters this weekend), one is struck by what’s not in it: star-mugging, superheroes (or even regular heroes), physics-defying brawls, branded messaging and CGI.
Indeed, the movie is an anomaly in our IP-driven universe. What‘s very much on offer, however, is a gently probing tale of moral seriousness about responsibility and guilt, developed from Jonathan Abrams’ patient screenplay and Eastwood’s reliably unfussy, character-driven stewardship . And no, not set in a post-apocalyptic world caused by catastrophic events, but in the recognizable wilds of everyday lives, and in that quotidian arena of judgment familiar to citizens everywhere: a city courthouse.
Ah, so a juicy whodunnit! OK, calm down. While homicide is the charge being adjudicated in this handsome, midsized Georgia town by a gung-ho prosecutor (Collette, quite good) who also happens to be angling to win an election, the case against James (Gabriel Basso) — a tattooed bruiser accused of killing his girlfriend one rainy night on a country road — isn’t so obvious, according to his capable lawyer ( Chris Messina ). The movie isn’t a c.