REVIEW: “Juror #2” (2024)

December 5, 2024 by Keith Garlington

It goes without saying, but few have had better big screen careers than the legendary Clint Eastwood. In addition to appearing in over 60 movies, the 94-year-old cinema icon has directed and/or produced a total of 44 features. He has even composed a total of seven film scores. On top of all that, he has received eleven Academy Award nominations and has had four Oscar night wins.

And that brings us to “Juror #2”, a feature that many are reporting could be the final film in Eastwood’s brilliant seven decade-long career. Eastwood himself hasn’t personally said anything about retiring, But if he does choose to step away, it’s hard to imagine a better movie for the legend’s potential swan song. Now if only it could get the big screen rollout it deserves.

“Juror #2” is every bit a gripping courtroom drama. But it resonates most as a thought-provoking morality play that uses the American legal system as a conduit for its incisive study of guilt and justice. The film is strengthened by its propulsive and character-focused script from Jonathan Abrams and a strikingly nuanced lead performance from Nicholas Hoult who continues his phenomenal career-defining year. But it’s Eastwood’s signature tight and efficient storytelling that makes the movie hit on all cylinders.

**Image Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures**

In “Juror #2” Eastwood taps into his career-long fascination with moral quandaries within modern social constructs. Here he wastes no time getting started by introducing us to Justin Kemp (Hoult), a journalist living in Savannah, Georgia with his wife Ally (Zoey Deutch). The two are nervously navigating the third trimester of Ally’s high-risk pregnancy when Justin receives a summons to report for jury duty. His hopes are that the pregnancy will be reason enough for him to be relieved. No such luck.

Justin is on the jury for a local murder case involving the death of a young woman named Kendall Carter (Francesca Eastwood). Her body was discovered near a bridge in a rocky creek bed. The accused killer is her boyfriend, James Michael Sythe (Gabriel Basso). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Faith Killebrew (Toni Collette) who is on the home stretch of her campaign to succeed her boss as the new DA. Faith believes she has all she needs to convict Sythe including eyewitness testimony, the medical examiner’s opinion, and Sythe’s own violent history.

But Sythe’s attorney, public defender Eric Resnick (Chris Messina), believes there is ample reason for reasonable doubt. Aside from the defendant passionately proclaiming his innocence, there is no murder weapon. And the defense contends that the eyewitness accounts don’t hold up under scrutiny. This sets up and fuels the two sides of the courtroom segment of Eastwood’s story.

But the big twist lies with Justin. As he listens to the prosecution and defense plea their cases he realizes he may have an unexpected connection to the murder. Justin’s sudden moral dilemma spills over into the deliberations as he becomes Sythe’s most ardent defender out of the twelve jurors. The tension steadily ratchets up as Eastwood and Abrams drip-feeds us more and more information. Over time the revelations help paint a clearer picture, yet there’s enough vagueness to keep things suspenseful.

There’s so much to admire about Eastwood’s sure-handed direction. It’s seen in his approach to the story that brings to mind such classics as Kurosawa’s “Rashomon” and Lumet’s “12 Angry Men”. We see it in how he opens up his themes with scalpel-sharp precision. And it shows in his confident use of Yves Bélanger’s sturdy classical cinematography.

But it’s perhaps clearest seen in Eastwood’s handling of his actors. Not only does the cast get good material, they also get space to explore and create. Hoult is especially good, conveying the weight of guilt in the light of uncertainty. Collette is outstanding in a role she takes in some unexpected directions. J. K. Simmons is his normal rock-solid self playing a skeptical juror with a unique insight. And Kiefer Sutherland gets a small but welcomed part as Justin’s mentor.

“Juror #2” hinges on a twist that could have easily turned into a cheap gimmick. But Clint Eastwood is not the kind of filmmaker to allow that to happen. His film has a lot more meat on its bones. Its themes are potent, the stakes get higher, and actions have far-reaching consequences. At the same time it entertains like an old-fashioned, well-oiled genre film. If this is Eastwood’s final film (and the selfish side of me really hopes it isn’t), what a way to wrap a truly remarkable career.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

REVIEW: “The Order” (2024)

December 4, 2024 by Keith Garlington

Out of the many features premiering this Fall movie season, few have peaked my curiosity quite like Justin Kurzel’s “The Order”. Based on the 1989 non-fiction book “The Silent Brotherhood” by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt, Kurzel’s period crime thriller sets out to tackle some potent subject matter. And with Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, and Jurnee Smollett starring, he has the cast to pull off what is one of the best thrillers of the year.

Kurzel has had a fascinating career. He emerged in 2015 with his powerful “Macbeth”. The very next year he hit a speed bump with “Assassin’s Creed”, a video game adaptation that has more strengths than it gets credit for. But he picked back up in 2019 with his gritty “True History of the Kelly Gang” and earned critical acclaim with 2021’s “Nitram”. Every film he has made is well worth watching and that remains true with “The Order”.

Set to a striking 1980s backdrop, Jude Law delivers one of the year’s best performances playing Terry Husk, an accomplished FBI agent who reopens the Bureau’s one-man office in the small rural town of Coeur D’Alene, Idaho. He’s come to investigate murmurings of rural neo-Nazi activity which the local Sheriff Loftlin (Philip Granger) is quick to downplay. But he finds an ally in Deputy Jamie Bowen (Sheridan), a clean-cut family man with his finger on the pulse of the area.

**Image Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios**

Terry is a compelling central character as seen through Law’s richly lived-in performance. He’s someone who has been around the block, building cases against the New York mafia and the Ku Klux Klan. But while he is driven by his work, it has also taken a heavy toll as evident by his lingering health problems and the allusions to his estranged wife and daughters. Sporting a thick mustache and a world-weary veneer, Terry is an honest and savvy agent who knows how criminals think.

Elsewhere we’re introduced to Bob Mathews played by a captivating Nicholas Hoult. He’s an attractive young man with an all-American smile and disarming sincerity that hides his more disturbing convictions. Bob is the leader of a neo-Nazi splinter group whose hate-fueled agenda is inspired by white supremacist William Luther Pierce’s 1978 novel “The Turner Diaries”.

In the film’s most unsettling scene, Bob has a secret roadside meeting with Rev. Richard Butler (a slyly chilling Victor Slezak), a religious zealot and the leader of Aryan Nations. Both share the same racist worldview but differ on how to bring it about. Butler is shrewd and meticulous, working under the firm belief that the political system is their best way forward. Bob is tired of talking and is ready to put words into action. He’s busy recruiting a militia; robbing banks and armored trucks to fund his revolution. But he’s drawing unwanted attention in the process.

Screenwriter Zach Baylin shapes their internal tension with a resonating urgency while defining their characters through their single-minded ambitions. As Butler sinks into the backdrop (a terrifying thought once you think about it), Bob’s fervor earns him a small but loyal group of followers who help him carry out a series of heists and soft-target bombings. But when his group (who calls themselves The Order, taken from Peirce’s book) murder Jewish talk-radio host Alan Berg (Marc Maron) in cold blood, it gives Terry and the FBI all they need to make Bob their #1 target.

As the “based on true events” story unfolds with a realistic tenor, the characters careen towards an inevitably violent conclusion. Along the way a handful of side characters provide the film with some welcomed context and depth. Smollett sheds some needed light on Ted playing his old friend and fellow agent, Joanne. In the same way, Bob is opened up more through his frustrated wife Debbie (Alison Oliver) and his pregnant side dish Zillah (Odessa Young). All three could use more screen time, but they have important roles and serve Kurzel’s laser-focused purpose well.

“In every revolution someone has to fire the first shot.” By the time those chilling words pass through Bob’s lips we fully understand the lengths he will go for his cause. And on the other side, Terry is just as committed to bringing Bob to justice. Both raise the stakes in what becomes a simmering cat-and-mouse thriller set within the stunning vistas of the Pacific Northwest. Law deserves an Oscar nomination for his performance while Hoult continues his tremendous 2024 run. As for Kurzel, he adds yet another compelling entry into his already strong filmography.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Nickel Boys” (2024)

December 3, 2024 by Keith Garlington

Few filmmakers in 2024 have made choices as bold as director RaMell Ross in his new film “Nickel Boys”. Based on Colson Whitehead’s 2019 Pulitzer Price-winning novel “The Nickel Boys” and inspired by the notorious reform school Dozier School for Boys, the film was already set to tackle some heavy subject matter. But Ross shoots his entire movie from a first-person point-of-view and in a boxed 4:3 aspect ratio, an approach that is far more than a gimmick yet comes with its own set of challenges.

The story (written for the screen by Ross and Joslyn Barnes) follows an unexpected friendship born out of horrible circumstances. Set in 1962, Elwood (Ethan Herisse) is a bright and ambitious African-American boy raised by his loving grandmother Hattie (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) in Jim Crow-era Tallahassee, Florida. Ross briefly ushers us through Elwood’s early years, showing us the world through the youngster’s eyes. In keeping with Ross’ first-person approach, we only occasionally see Elwood’s face through reflections in windows or a photo booth snapshot.

Among Elwood’s very small group of supporters is his teacher Mr. Hill (Jimmie Fails) who encourages his now 16-year-old student to apply to Melvin Griggs Technical School. Elwood is accepted and excited about advancing his education. While walking a rural highway to Melvin Griggs, Elwood hitches a ride with a garish but friendly man in a shiny Impala. But it turns out the car has been stolen and the local authorities arrest the man and falsely accuse Elwood of being an accomplice.

With no consideration given to due process, Elwood is taken to Nickel Academy, a fiercely segregated penal institution posing as a school for boys. He’s immediately introduced to the Academy’s oppressive system of forced labor and rank abuse. The forbidding administrator, Mr. Spencer (Hamish Linklater) runs the school by an edict he calls his “Four Levels of Behavior”. Reach the final level and you “graduate”. But as Elwood later learns, most people only leave by aging out or dying.

But it is at Nickel that Elwood meets someone who will forever change his life. A fellow “student” named Turner (Brandon Wilson) takes Elwood under his wing and the two quickly become close friends. It’s here that Ross shifts his perspective over to Turner, staying in first-person but showing us things through another set of eyes The rest of the film chronicles their growing friendship with Ross frequently switching between their points-of-view.

As you can imagine, the themes are pretty heavy and exploring them can be harrowing. At the same time it’s often quite moving. Ross offers a mesmerizing meditation on the Black experience that manages to find a beauty in the world that offers a sharp contrast to the ugly. Yet while the filmmaking gives us an exquisite vision of Elwood’s view of the world, the beautiful imagery lessens as the ugliness of the world becomes more of a reality for him.

The entire approach to “Nickel Boys” certainly grabs you and Ross clearly offers us a new way of considering such a story. But in the process he loses his grip a bit, specifically in the final act. There are few too many gaps in the storytelling as the movie tries to come to a close. Puzzling images are thrown in that muddle more than enlighten. Similarly, several flash-forward scenes make the finish more convoluted than it should be.

Those things aside, RaMell Ross deserves a ton of credit for tackling themes we’ve seen handled many times over but making us look at them in ways we never have before. The performances are strong throughout, especially from Ellis-Taylor. And the emotional weight they help convey form the backbone of this piercing and evocative drama that keeps you riveted, third act kinks and all.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

REVIEW: “A Real Pain” (2024)

December 2, 2024 by Keith Garlington

Writer, director, producer, and star Jesse Eisenberg has made a splash with “A Real Pain”, an emotionally rich and organically funny dramedy that follows two Jewish cousins on a trip to better understand their late grandmother’s past. In the process, the two end up learning more about themselves and each other. It may sound like a fairly conventional premise. But Eisenberg infuses his film with such humanity that he has no trouble earning our empathy.

The film opens with the two cousins meeting at the airport in New York City. Within seconds its easy to see that they couldn’t be more different. First is David (Eisenberg), an buttoned-up and tightly wound digital advertising specialist who lives in a comfy Manhattan brownstone with his wife and young son. And then there is Benji (Kieran Culkin), a crass but naturally charming free spirit who flies by the seat of his pants and has no problem sharing whatever is on his mind.

**Image Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures**

Like many cousins, David and Benji grew up close but drifted apart as their lives took different paths. But they’re brought back together by the recent passing of their grandmother. Both loved her very much, but we learn she had an especially close relationship with Benji. Now they are coming together to fulfill their grandmother’s dying wish – to take money she left them and travel to Poland to learn about where she came from.

After the pair reunite in New York, they fly to Warsaw where they join a small but intimate tour group led by a knowledgeable British guide named James (Will Sharpe). Filling out the group is a recently divorced middle-aged New Yorker named Marcia (Jennifer Grey) who is there to honor her mother, an African-born Jewish convert named Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan) who survived the Ruwandan genocide and now seeks to better connect to his faith, and a somewhat stuffy retired couple, Mark (Daniel Oreskes) and Diane (Liza Sadovy).

One of the film’s biggest strengths lies in Eisenberg’s impressive ability to balance the heaviness of his movie’s themes with moments of levity. Culkin’s Benji brings an irreverent and rambunctious energy to the Holocaust tour group. And while that may sound incredibly insensitive, Eisenberg’s humanizing touch ensures sensitivity and pathos. The humor is organic to the characters and it compliments their arcs while helping to better define them.

“A Real Pain” has received a lot of buzz since premiering earlier this year at Sundance. In that time Culkin has garnered most of the attention and he certainly earns it. But his character (and by extension his performance) wouldn’t have the impact without the sturdy and on-point Eisenberg as his foil. Together they get to the heart of the movie which turns out to have more on its mind than just remembrance. It’s also a movie about reconnection, understanding, and finding your way forward. It asks several questions that have no easy answers. But it leaves us thinking about them which testifies to Eisenberg’s prowess.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

REVIEW: “I’m Still Here” (2024)

November 29, 2024 by Keith Garlington

Firmly planted as one of the year’s best films, “I’m Still Here” roots us within its tense and turbulent setting as good as any other movie you’ll see in 2024. Brazilian director Walter Salles, working from a screenplay by Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega, tells the powerful true story of Eunice Paiva, a wife and mother navigating through and eventually rising above a harrowing political whirlwind.

Based on Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s 2015 memoir “Ainda Estou Aqui”, “I’m Still Here” is set in Rio de Janeiro during the early 1970s amid an oppressive military dictatorship. In the Spring of 1964 the Brazilian Armed Forces carried out a coup d’état to overthrow embattled president João Goulart. The dictatorship that followed lasted 21 years and was marked by numerous human rights abuses including forced disappearances, torture, and executions.

Image Courtesy of **Sony Pictures Classics**

Salles earns our investment early by dedicating a lot of screen time to developing the Paiva family. Eunice is the heart of the film and played with such emotional force by a brilliant Fernanda Torres. She shares a loving marriage with Rubens (Selton Mello), an engineer and former congressman. Together they have five kids – a son and four daughters, and all live in a lively two-story home near the beach.

The Paiva’s are a fun and vibrant family with members full of their own character, from the staunchly activist-minded Vera (Valentina Herszage) who heads off to London to study sociology to the intensely observant and news-conscience Eliana (Luiza Kosovski) whose grasp of their troubled world is beyond her years. Not only are they incredibly well written, both individually and as group, the performances are full of energy and heart.

But the family’s happy existence is interrupted one evening when a group of mysterious armed men show up demanding Rubens come with them to give “a deposition”. As he is escorted away, three men stay behind to keep watch over Eunice and their kids. A day passes without news from either Rubens or the government sanctioned agents who took him. As Eunice pushes for information, more men arrive and take her and Eliana, subjecting them to draining and abusive interrogations.

Eunice and Eliana are finally released but are left without any word on Rubens. The authorities play dumb to the point of denying Rubens was ever taken into their custody. The rest of the film follows Eunice’s search for the truth about her husband‘s abduction while at the same time doing everything she can to support and protect her children. It’s a powerful story based on true events and galvanized by Torres’ sublime performance – one of the year’s best.

Positioned as Brazil’s entry for Best International Feature at the upcoming Academy Awards, “I’m Still Here” is a historical drama that is worthy of every consideration. It tells an intense, enlightening, and heart-wrenching story of a family’s survival under the watch of an oppressive regime. It’s expertly brought to life by Salles who makes several candid statements on Brazilian history while maintaining an affecting focus on human resilience amid great suffering. Don’t miss it.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Mothers’ Instinct” (2024)

November 27, 2024 by Keith Garlington

The top-tier teaming of Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway drive “Mothers’ Instinct”, a pulpy and fun suburban thriller from director and cinematographer Benoît Delhomme. The two luminous stars sink right into their roles as neighbors, best friends and mothers who watch their relationship crumble following a horrific tragedy. Anders Danielsen Lie and Josh Charles add sturdy supporting roles, but this is Chastain and Hathaway’s show and their magnetism makes the film’s blemishes a little easier to get past.

With “Mothers’ Instinct” Delhomme plays with a premise that could have been plucked straight out of Hitchcock’s oeuvre. His film is a remake of Olivier Masset-Depasse’s 2018 Belgian thriller that was an adaptation of Barbara Abel’s 2012 novel of the same name. The screenplay is by Sarah Conradt who does a good job playing with our perceptions of her characters. But it shows cracks as plot holes begin to add up, specifically in the film’s second half.

Set in the 1960s, Alice (Chastain) and Celine (Hathaway) are best friends and next-door neighbors living in a sunlit and tree-lined suburbia. Their almost matching two-story homes sit pristinely on immaculately manicured lawns that are separated by one long green hedge. Both have 8-year-old sons who are best buddies and spend much of their time together. And both have husbands who leave early for work while the wives stay behind and manage the home. It’s a glossy snapshot of a segment of 1960s society.

Alice and Celine’s relationship forever changes after Celine’s son Max (Baylen D. Bielitz) falls from his home’s top-floor balcony and is tragically killed. Alice could see Max from her yard but couldn’t reach him in time. Celine, who had been cleaning house in another room when her son fell, plunges into a deep depression while her husband Damian (Charles) sinks into the bottle.

In the days that follow, Celine goes out of her way to avoid Alice which causes the anxious Alice to worry that Celine may blame her for Max’s death. But things really take a more twisted turn after Celine starts showing extra attention to Alice’s son, Theo (Eamon Patrick O’Connell). Alice’s husband Simon (Lie) brushes it off as Celine’s way of coping with her grief. But Alice isn’t so sure which leads to a mounting tension between the former best friends.

But here’s the movie’s big trick – which woman is coming unglued? Is it Celine, Alice, or both? Delhomme gives us ample reasons to question both, shifting our suspicions from one to the other until everything comes into focus during the final act. As the drama unfolds, Conradt uses social norms of the time to divert our attention and mask where the story is really going. It doesn’t all gel as intended, but it certainly makes following along a lot of fun.

That said, the movie still wobbles under the unfortunate weight of obvious plot holes and lapses in logic. Several seemingly meaningful elements of the story turn out to be little more than devices that are utterly forgotten once they move the story to its next point. It’s a nagging issue that keeps this otherwise well acted and visually striking psychodrama from being as memorable as it could have been. But it’s still Chastain and Hathaway – two actresses who make everything they’re in worth seeing. It’s no different here.