It’s an injustice that duds like ‘Joker: Folie a Deux’ and ‘Megalopolis’ played on thousands of screens across the country, while Clint Eastwood’s compelling new film about justice, ‘Juror No. 2’, will appeal to only 50.

The smash courtroom drama could very well be the 94-year-old “Million Dollar Baby” director’s swan song, although he hasn’t said that very often. And why would the sniper jump the gun? The man still knows how to make a damn good movie.

How bizarre that most audiences will have to wait for its streaming debut to see Eastwood’s film. But “Juror No. 2” and its disappearing ilk are scaring studios today: morally complex, smart fare made for adults. What should scare Hollywood execs is comic book villains singing show tunes, but I digress.

Even during the film’s sporadic moments of awkwardness, you’re always on edge, you’re always thinking, you’re always filled with realistic fear. You always wonder, “Could this happen to me?”

The riddle we are grappling with is a difficult one. Nicholas Hoult, an underrated actor who is among the best of his generation, plays Justin, a juror who begins to believe that he committed the crime – and not the defendant.

A year earlier, a woman named Kendall (Francesca Eastwood, Clint’s 31-year-old daughter) was found dead at the bottom of an overpass, after being struck with a hard object and then pushed over the railing. At least that’s what they think.

The man on trial is her violent, tattooed boyfriend James (Gabriel Basso), who witnessed him arguing with her at a nearby bar. She stormed out of the street and he followed her.

But as details of the case emerge, paranoid Justin recalls hitting something with his car on the same road late that night. He couldn’t find a body and hoped it was a deer at most. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t.

Whatever the case, his terrible accident, the guilt and doubt that have plagued him ever since, and the task of deciding James’ fate – from thirty years to life in prison – are anyone’s worst nightmare.

Adding to the pressure, Justin’s pregnant wife Allison (Zoey Deutch, perfect) is about to give birth, 12 months after suffering a traumatizing miscarriage. And oh yeah, he’s also a recovering alcoholic (his AA sponsor is played by Kiefer Sutherland).

The visually simple film suffers somewhat from the jury deliberations. The group begins to believe almost unanimously that James is guilty, but then, due to their somewhat too specific background, begins to doubt their certainty.

The evidence of ambitious prosecutor Faith (Toni Collette) – who is also a candidate for district attorney and has a striking first name – does not add up for a former cop (JK Simmons) and a medical student (Chikako Fukuyama). ) offers her own expert perspective on how the injuries actually occurred.

These scenes, always entertaining, nevertheless strain credulity. The characters reach conclusions that are hard to believe real people would reach, and venture in directions that would be impossible for any sane judge to fathom.

But as stable as she is, even as his character’s life falls to pieces, Hoult’s telling performance is of the heart. He is quiet, reserved and restless with steely determination and dazzlingly expressive eyes. The actor, more versatile than you might think, never overplays a beat while the storm rages within him.

Part of what makes our debate about Justin so lively is the easy friendliness Hoult exudes. How could someone so innocent and good-natured become involved in such a heinous crime? And if he did do it, do we really want this sweet guy, about to become a father, to suffer the obvious consequences or squeeze through the cracks of a beleaguered legal system?

“It’s a tough call,” says Collette’s Faith.

And that includes “Juror No. 2,” in all the right ways.

Thank you, Clint, for a long and brilliant career full of difficult challenges.