Posts Tagged ‘Clint Eastwood’

Juror #2 (2024)

Dir: Clint Eastwood | Wri: Jonathan Abrams | Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, Zoey Deutch, Chris Messina, Kiefer Sutherland, J.K. Simmons, Gabriel Basso, Cedric Yarbrough, Leslie Bibb, Francesca Eastwood, Amy Aquino, Adrienne C. Moore | US 113’

The truth can be a dangerous thing as Nicholas Hoult finds out in Clint Eastwood’s chewy courtroom drama. Informative and complex rather than nail-biting Juror #2 is an absorbing film with its intelligent look at the US justice system in all its anomalies and unpredictable uncertainties.

In Savannah, Georgia Hoult is Justin Kemp, a squeaky clean family man and recovering alcoholic who finds himself called up for jury service in a high-profile murder trial that brings to light a chilling realisation: the poor guy was actually there at the scene of the crime. His wife Allison (Deutch) is about to give birth to their first child after a previous miscarriage, adding further anxiety to an already stressful state of affairs.

The man in the dock, James Sythe (Basso), was out drinking with his girlfriend (Eastwood’s daughter, Kendall Carter) on the night of the crime. He’s been charged with her subsequent death by Faith Killebrew (Colette), a confident county prosecutor, who is also campaigning to be the new district attorney.

So while Sythe’s life hangs in the balance, Justin is paralysed by a moral dilemma as it dawns on him that the ‘deer’ he hit that night was actually the victim. Should he come clean, or stay quiet and protect his own family – that’s the predicament.

Juror #2 is not just about a murder trial, it’s about a man’s sense of justice and moral probity. It explores the growing guilt and suspicious behaviour that comes into play as his character plunges further and further into a state of emotional turmoil. Hoult is rather good as the culpable party – he starts to blush and shake as he reaches out to his solicitor friend Larry Lasker (Sutherland) for insight and support. Clint and his writer Jonathan Abrams ask us all “what would you do in the circumstances”?

Sixty years after Clint was bewitching us in A Fistful of Dollars (1964) his versatile career as actor, director, producer and composer continues to flourish. About time one of the big festivals gave him a tribute. @MeredithTaylor

ON RELEASE FROM 1 NOVEMBER 2024 |

 

The Mule (2018) ***

Dir: Clint Eastwood | Writ: Sam Dolnick | Cast: Bradley Cooper, Clint Eastwood, Manny Montana, Taissa Farmiga | US Thriller | 118′

Clint Eastwood digs up the story of American horticulturalist Leo Sharp and shovels it out as a plodding but endearing drama about a geriatric, green-fingered drug mule.

Most people won’t have heard of Leo Sharp. He was a popular plantsman who tended his award-winning day-lilies until his business went belly up in the digital age. Directing from Nick Schenck’s laboured script, Clint Eastwood plays him as savvy entrepreneur Earl Stone, who seizes the opportunity to finance his dwindling days by becoming a driver for the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel.

The life and soul of any gathering, stone is an old school charmer for whom work is always a pleasure but family a chore –  and we feel his pain as he potters around in a state of perpetual regret for disappointing his nagging wife (Dianne West) and daughter. Infact, all the women in The Mule are seen in a negative light either nagging or as gaiety girls flashing their assets –  his grand-daughter is the exception (Taissa Farmiga gets the best female role).  Maybe there’s more of Clint in Stone than he’d like to admit.

And that’s not all. The DEA (in the shape of Bradley Cooper and Michael Peña) are on his tail, at a snail’s pace. Cooper does his stuff with consummate ease and follows Stone across the scenic landscape and the two compare notes on family faux pas. And clearly Clint relishes his role as he sallies forth on the open road, singing out loud at the wheel of his truck, a rather sly old curmudgeon one minute, and twinkly-eyed Roué the next. And what man wouldn’t when offered a threesome with Mexican babes.

The Mule is a slow roadie with a wonderful central performance from a Hollywood great. Still rocking into his nineties and in command of his faculties. There are few politically incorrect moments – and for a man who grew up in the 1940s you’ve got to appreciate how times – and attitudes – have changed. And when he delivered his acceptance speech at the Day-lily awards, Clint should have quoted Dorothy Parker’s famous line: “You can lead a horticulture, but you can’t make her think”. That said, The Mule is a respectable movie. And Clint is still a legend. How many of us can say that? MT

ON GENERAL RELEASE FROM FRIDAY 29 January 2019

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