Mike Flanagan’s review published on Letterboxd:
Very solid, classic legal drama that appears to be a courtroom thriller, but is actually a moral and ethical puzzle box. Great performances in service of humble, confident direction by Eastwood. Nicholas Hoult plays a juror who realizes he has a very personal connection to the case he's been assigned to, and suddenly finds that two lives hang in the balance - the defendant's, and possibly his own.
It's not a flashy film, and certain plot contrivances have to be accepted in order to earn the moral equation that drives it, but that suspension of disbelief is welcome when the questions are this compelling.
This is a somber, complicated look at the nature of justice, the realities of redemption and recovery, and whether or not we can be better than our worst mistake. As someone who has been sober for 6 years, the idea that we're only as sick as our secrets hit home, and I found the questions about moral responsibility and ethical grey areas to be consistently compelling. Good people can do awful things, bad people can still be innocent; people can indeed change, but that change doesn't eclipse their responsibility... justice isn't simple.
A fine, thoughtful drama for grownups, and the kind of film that used to be celebrated in the days of Sidney Lumet... they don't often make them like this anymore.
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