Tag Archives: Legal

Juror #2 Review

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It’s time for a classic courtroom drama and I’m always a big fan of those. We get to really see a lot of the jury duty process and the film avoids having any flashy subplots to distract from the main story. This is really about what the jury thinks happened and we get to see both sides of the case as made out by the defense and prosecution. The film lets you think about their cases for a little while before showing you what happened here which I thought was a really good move.

The case is as follows, one night James and his girlfriend Kendall were having another one of their fights. Apparently they have a long history of fights that got really intense and this time Kendall stormed off to head home in the middle of a heavy rainstorm. It’s a fairly long walk back and this was in the dead of night through the highway which isn’t a really safe spot. The next morning they found her dead in the wilderness with injuries suggesting a physical blow. James was taken in as the sole suspect and the prosecution is making the case that he murdered her. Meanwhile the defense doesn’t believe this happened and so that’s where the case starts.

A lot of the evidence is against James from the start with how he’s a drunk and has a long history of fighting with her. It seems like things would get abusive although we see several different versions of each scene based on who is telling the story so it can be hard to say exactly what did or did not happen. Regardless, it’s clear that he wasn’t the best guy around which doesn’t make him look great in the jury’s eyes. They all immediately think he’s guilty except for Justin who thinks this is all moving too fast. He wants James to get a fair trial.

Regardless of if James is guilty or not, Justin is certainly right about the others not taking this seriously enough. It’s a shame but jury duty has become something that everyone dreads and they all try to get away from the job. As a result you sometimes have a jury that just doesn’t care about what is going on and they want to leave as soon as possible. I know the point is to trust an impartial jury of 12 of your peers but honestly I’m not sure I would trust them at all. Best thing to do is make sure you never commit a crime or go anywhere near where a crime is going on but sometimes things are out of your control and so you just need to really hope that you get a good jury.

The movie really makes sure to have one of the more annoying set of jurors here so you can really sympathize with Justin’s struggles here. One of the ladies there is constantly trying to pick fights and just wants to go home to her kids. You can bet that every time they all try to start talking about the case she will be throwing out strawman arguments. Then you’ve got another guy with a massive chip on his shoulder who basically says he will be voting guilty no matter what and doesn’t care what evidence comes out. The accused was part of a gang at one point and so the juror believes that he is still guilty no matter what.

The film doesn’t hide that James has made a lot of mistakes here but of course at the end of the day you’re just here to judge on a crime, not the rest of his life history. The older jurors tend to be the most reasonable ones like the ex detective who is ready to look into things and the old lady who always tries to hear people out. There is also a doctor in training who helps them analyze the injury. The film shows how everyone is able to contribute something different to the conversation based on their lived experiences. It probably won’t go so neatly in practice but it’s a fun idea.

That said, as the film goes on you begin to like Justin less and less. Early on in the film he begins to suspect something and this turns his attitude upside down. He ends up being a very selfish person, someone who prioritizes himself when the going gets tough. To an extent that’s fine, it’s human nature after all. But he takes it really far because we are talking about a man’s life here. For murder you’re either going to get death or life in prison and so you have to actually give your best while you’re in the courtroom.

Justin tries to rationalize things a whole lot but at the end of the day his words ring hollow. His attempt at a philosophical argument just shows how desperate he is. So yeah by the end I didn’t like him. His wife Allison also didn’t look very good for most of the film but I’ll cut her a little slack due to the fact that she’s pregnant. That can really mess with your hormones and emotions the whole time after all. Would have been nice if she could have been more supportive and giving Justin some good advice but it is what it is.

Meanwhile Faith was the main prosecutor here and so she was the one trying to push for a guilty sentence. The problem is that she also had selfish reasons for doing so because getting such a conviction would grant her a promotion. Her conscience starts to really ring loudly as the film goes on and several characters let her know of the big mistake she is making. Ultimately she does make the right decisions so I’ll give her credit here even if it took a lot of prodding. Eric gets a lot of points for trying his best the whole time and not losing faith in the justice system. Like he says, it’s not perfect but it’s what they have to work with.

Like I still don’t buy into the whole thing about not being able to look up information about the case on your own. I feel like that would be super beneficial in a lot of situations. I understand the logic behind why the rule was made in the first place but the positives against it are just too strong if you ask me.

Overall, This was definitely a great film and it had a really satisfying ending. You’re definitely glad to see the justice going on. At the end of the day it can be a bit of a sad film since justice doesn’t change what happened earlier but at least you can walk away knowing that you did something and made a difference. That’s something that nobody else can take away from you. All that being said, I’d still rather not be called on my next summons, it’s much more fun to watch than to participate.

Overall 8/10

Absence of Malice Review

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It’s time for a film about the fine line you walk between what is true and what is speculation. It’s a pretty interesting movie and I had a good time with it but I wasn’t crazy about the ending. I feel like some of the characters really got off very easy considering all of the damage that was done. Not like you want to be super vindictive or anything but they definitely could have done more here. At the very least I can safely say that the main romance really had no reason to be included in the movie and made no sense.

The movie starts off with some guys investigating a mysterious disappearance/possible murder. The news is leaked to reporter Megan by a secretary who was probably fired shortly afterwards. The government shares the building with the newspaper so sometimes these things happen but this is a big story so Megan is told to drop it by this one guy who has a crush on her. So she stomps on his feelings and quickly rushes the report through. The government is investigating Michael Gallagher! Michael isn’t thrilled about this and shows up to the newspaper office but he is given the brush off. It’s all fair use so they can ruin his life with complete immunity. Michael doesn’t think this is fair and is working to find out the source for this story. Meanwhile the governor is getting involved as well and Megan will be on the hot seat if she can’t verify some details.

So there’s a lot going on here. Right off the bat I would say Megan is very irresponsible here for putting out such a hit piece on flimsy information. Here’s the thing, while it’s true that Michael is under investigation, you don’t want to go around publishing that because it immediately puts him in a certain kind of light. People tend to think you’re guilty if you’re under suspicion and that shows how jaded the average person is. It’s regrettable but that’s really just how it is. It’s a rough start but I think she could have recovered a bit by just telling him. Just sell the government out, they would do the same in a heartbeat.

Instead she doubles down and keeps trying to crack him. Michael ends up liking her so he asks her out on a date and the idea is to get to know each other. Maybe she will give him some more information or at least see that he is a decent guy. It’s a thought at least even if it’s not a very realistic one. Megan immediately wants to do more than just hang out because she’s “modern” and all. He initially resists but unfortunately doesn’t do they have their affair and common sense kicks back in as they are still enemies.

All of this is already rough but it gets way worse when Michael’s friend Teresa shows up to try and defend him. She explains to Megan that he has a rock solid alibi and she can prove it but not to use her name or anything. So Megan ignores her and uses the girl’s name, occupation, and tells all the details of what was a super private and controversial affair. It ultimately doesn’t go well for Teresa and the problem here is that Megan knew it wouldn’t end well. Sure, she acts a bit surprised and gets depressed, but the whole thing was nutty. In no possible universe was this going to end well for Teresa. Megan is a reporter and it’s not like this is her first day on the job so I don’t get the confusion here. This is pretty basic stuff.

That to me is where Megan completely crossed the line. I just can’t see how Michael is still friendly with her at the end after this. At least he left but in my mind the bridge was so completely burned that they should not get along at all. It’s really a disgrace to Teresa’s memory. They were good friends and all so it just doesn’t make sense. It’s why the romance should have also been omitted. How can you fall for the person who framed you and hung you out to dry. You could say “It’s her job” but is that really a good excuse? I just want you to really think about that one. Do you actually buy into that in your heart of hearts? Enough to still go through with a romance? No shot!

I was at least glad Michael was smart enough to start launching counter attacks and getting his revenge though. The writing in the film is extremely solid. While I may not like some of the characters, that doesn’t take away from the writing itself. I like this 4 way battle with all of the characters trying to move forward while navigating through their opponents. The governor for example is a pretty fun character as he jumps in to try and take hold of the situation but it’s not so easy. He’s one of the only ones who could get to Elliot though which was a good battle of wits. Elliot doesn’t actually work for the governor since he is directly to the federal government level but they each have some leverage over the other.

Elliot is definitely a fun character with how crafty he can be. The guy definitely holds his own with the other various characters and doesn’t go down easy. He actually tried making a decent case by the end but ultimately wasn’t able to pull it off. He was completely outwitted but the attempt was fair. In general the climax of the film is really good and I dare say it might be the best part of the movie. We finally get the entire cast into the same room to all talk it out. The most underrated character there was Megan’s lawyer but unfortunately she kept cutting him off so he couldn’t save the day. Like him or not, the guy was definitely experienced and probably the only one in the room who could really hang with the grand jury for a while there. When you have so many people with huge egos in the same room, it definitely gets entertaining. Maybe at the heart of things, that’s why I tend to love big meeting scenes and moments like this.

Overall, Absence of Malice is a good film. It doesn’t really have the cathartic pleasure you might expect from the characters getting their just desserts but the film is going for a realistic angle and that kind of thing doesn’t always happen. So it does make sense in that case. It may not be the most satisfying ending but it doesn’t take away from the rest of the movie being a real interesting game of cat and mouse. It definitely does show just how powerful a simple editorial or rumor could be. It may not have the same punch nowadays with so many news sources but back in the day it would definitely be difficult to come back from that. When your career is shot, it’s shot all the way.

Overall 6/10