Why Juror No. 2 shouldn’t be Clint Eastwood’s swan song

Clint Eastwood is back and at 94, he is directing a twisted courtroom drama – Juror No.2. At an age when most of his colleagues either retire or are no longer around, the veteran filmmaker’s decision to direct another thriller is commendable. What’s even more admirable is that the trailer of his latest film is nothing short of brilliant.

The Juror No. 2 trailer was released last week and even though it wasn’t publicized like other films, it managed to stand out because of the Clint Eastwood touch. The story seems to revolve around a family man (Justin Kemp) who has been selected for jury duty in a high-profile murder trial.

However, Justin slowly realizes he has a personal connection to the case that could save the accused but complicate things for him and his fellow jurors, who are oblivious to his moral dilemma. Will Justin Kemp use his unique insight to save the wrongfully accused man, or will he save himself and let ‘justice’ take its course, that’s the question Clint Eastwood teases well in the trailer.

Interesting, isn’t it? After all, Eastwood is one of the few surviving filmmakers who have been calling the shots since the 1970s. Given his age, whenever he comes up with a film, people label it as his final offering but he returns with another one to surprise them and his fans. When he acted in and directed Gran Torino, many believed it marked the end of the road, but he returned with J. Edgar and Sully; the same happened with American Sniper, which he followed up with The Mule and Richard Jewell.

Kathy Bates was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for this filmIMDb

His last feature film, Cry Macho, didn’t perform well at the box office, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have an ace up his sleeve. Juror No. 2 looks to be that film, which will give a new lease of life to the veteran filmmaker. The question isn’t whether you should watch the film, but whether it should be his final one. We have reasons to prove that this shouldn’t be the end of the road for Dirty Harry.

He still commands the respect of the best actors

From Tom Hanks to Laurence Fishburne, Morgan Freeman to Kathy Bates, big names who’ve worked with Clint Eastwood feel he’s one of the best filmmakers around. He doesn’t waste the time of the producers (he is the producer in most cases), doesn’t go for extra takes, and knows exactly what he wants from his actors.

In Juror No.2, nearly every actor including the son of his longtime collaborator Donald Sutherland, is working with him for the first time. Kiefer Sutherland who has made a name for himself as TV’s Jack Bauer is reported to have written a letter to Clint Eastwood showing his interest in working with him. Sadly, that isn’t the case with Eastwood’s contemporaries who continue to work with frequent collaborators.

Tom Hanks noted during the filming of Sully that Eastwood, despite his age, didn’t take breaks, inspiring the younger cast and crew. He might not have the strength of a young man anymore, but his vision is unparalleled, and nobody wants that to end with this film.

Age is just a number for the old man

How many directors can you name who have been nominated multiple times for Best Director by the Academy Award after their 70th birthday? He directed Mystic River at 73, Million Dollar Baby at 74, Letters from Iwo Jima at 77, and American Sniper at 84, while directing Richard Jewell at 89, which earned Kathy Bates an Oscar nomination in 2020.

Besides that, he directed the suspense flick Changeling in 2008, the sports drama Invictus in 2009, the horror flick Hereafter in 2010, two biopics J. Edgar and Sully in 2011 and 2016 besides the thriller The 15:17 to Paris in 2018. But that doesn’t mean Eastwood the actor is finished; he starred in Trouble with the Curve in 2012 and directed himself in The Mule and Cry Macho, during the last six years.

If Juror No. 2 manages to do well at the box office, Clint Eastwood will not just add another feather to his cap, he will get the motivation to go for another film, and if his fans could get their wish, they would want the veteran to go into the sunset with a Western.

Why Clint Eastwood deserves a starring farewell

Not acting in most of his films during the last 20 years doesn’t mean that Clint Eastwood, the actor, doesn’t have much to offer. At 91, he played the leading man in Cry Macho which failed at the box office not because it was a bad film but because COVID-19 had put a dent in the cinema industry worldwide.

It would be great to see Clint in one final role that would do justice to his talents. After all, who would mind if he played a 'Stranger,' as he did in Pale Rider, or reprised the Dirty Harry character? After all, his fans deserve a befitting farewell from the legend, and if he could make it happen, it will certainly ‘make their day’.