Denial

 SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

Denial (2016), which is based on a trial revolving around a claim that the Nazi Holocaust did not take place, speaks to us today because in a world with deep fake technology and the difficulty to determine fake information in social media from fact, it has become increasingly difficult to determine what is true and what is a lie.

The movie is based on the book, History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier by Deborah E. Lipstadt, who is played by Oscar-winner Rachel Weisz. Lipstadt is an American professor whose specialty is The Holocaust. The film opens with a grainy clip that implies authenticity showing a sarcastic and dismissive David Irving (Timothy Spall), who writes about Nazi Germany. He states that “more women died in the back seat of Senator Edward Kennedy’s car at Chappaquiddick than ever died in a gas chamber at Auschwitz.” That there is laughter from the audience giving agreement to the man’s words is very chilling.

The story begins in 1994 at Emory University. The movie shows that although we know the Holocaust occurred through the existence of mass graves and testimonies, it is difficult to prove details of the horrors. For instance, Lipstadt tells her class that the Nazis made sure that there was no evidence of killings in gas chambers because they blew them up.

The camera shows Lipstadt running, gathering materials, basically in constant motion which establishes her as a person of action.

We get immediate evidence of the story’s conflict when Irving, lurking in the shadows exhibiting a demonic face, interrupts a speech by Lipstadt in Atlanta Georgia. She is stating that she will not “debate facts” with a Holocaust denier. It is ironic that is exactly what she must do because Irving sues her in 1996 for libel for calling him a Holocaust denier in her writing. The extent to which denial of The Holocaust is accepted is shown by the fact that Irving has done his own extensive biased research and has been published by prominent publishing institutions. Irving films his stunt so he can use the media to promote himself and his fake argument.

Lipstadt watches the news and her sad face shows her reaction to seeing Irving speaking to Neo-Nazis in Germany, saying they have nothing to feel ashamed about in their past. His audience responds by giving the Nazi salute. It is frightening to realize that some people find community in shared hatred of others. (It is notable that just recently there has been a resurgence of extreme right-wing political forces in Germany and other European nations).

The trial takes place in England where rules are a bit reversed compared to the United States. There a defendant is considered guilty until proven innocent. The same goes for a libel case. Irving deliberately chose England because it makes Lipstadt appear guilty from the start. It is another way of stacking the deck against truth. The film details the legal strategies that Lipstadt’s lawyers, Anthony Julius (Andrew Scott) and Richard Rampton (Tom Wilkinson) use. Julius points out that Irving wants to gain scholastic respect by defeating Lipstadt, and many scholars don’t see the fact that Irving is an anti-Semite to be a disqualifier. Julius is reading a book about how the renowned poet T. S. Eliot was anti-Semitic. Indeed, he was, yet he wrote great poetry. Sometimes the person deserves condemnation, but that individual’s work is laudable. Irving is no Eliot, but he aspires to gain scholarly recognition.

Lipstadt says her mother’s name means “warrior,” and she always felt that her daughter was meant to fight a great battle. She sees that the confrontation with Irving is the war she was destined to fight. Here we see that the battle against evil is a generational one. IMDb points out that while running Lipstadt stops to observe the statue of “Boadicea and her Daughters.” She was a warrior who led a failed uprising against the Romans. That image links to Lipstadt and her mother, but it implies a warning that a noble fight can still be lost.

The story jumps to 1998. Lipstadt’s legal team delivers discovery information to Irving, who tries to gain sympathy for his cause by depicting himself as a David against the Goliath-sized law firm representing his adversary. Irving is charming, smart, and mannerly. He plays with his granddaughter. What Hamlet says fits here: “that one may smile, and smile, and be a villain.” The legal team wants Irving’s personal diary for discovery evidence. They find that one must be careful what one wishes for. The diary consists of volumes which fill a whole room, making it an immense undertaking to plow through.

It is raining heavily and there is thunder outside the London law firm as Lipstadt arrives, symbolizing the storm to be weathered in the courtroom. What might seem an obvious defense is not necessarily what works in an actual courtroom. Lipstadt thinks it should be necessary to have holocaust victims testify to substantiate her remarks about Irving distorting the facts. But Julius points out that Irving will attack the victims if he gets the chance to question them because he will represent himself. Julius says the survivors do not “remember every detail. They forget something. They say the door was on the left when it was on the right.” Irving will say that they are liars and can’t be trusted. It’s like looking at the tiniest flaw in a work of art and condemning the whole painting.

Lipstadt tries to raise money for the defense team from the Jewish community in London. She encounters another argument among those Jews she dines with. One says that instead of giving Irving a spotlight it would be better to settle. She uses the words “appeasement” which brings up bad memories among the British because that is what Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was accused of in giving into Nazi demands at the beginning of WWII.

Lipstadt is frustrated by others shutting her out of what she wants to accomplish, telling her what she can do and say, or not say. Legal finesse and roundabout ways of dealing with the situation are out of sync with her straightforward way of confronting the situation.

Lawyer Rampton, who will argue the case, travels with Lipstadt to Auschwitz. Rampton takes pictures and the audience gets shots of the misty, hushed place that looks haunted. The moisture that drips from an iron structure implies droppings of blood. There are huge piles of survivors’ belongings with names on them and dates which resemble grave markers. Lipstadt seems tentative as she walks on what remains of the killing factories.

Those who tried to discredit the existence of the Holocaust attributed the cyanide present at Auschwitz to killing of lice. The area where that was done had evidence of high concentrations of the poison. Lipstadt points out that residue was higher at that location because it takes twenty times more cyanide to kill the lice than it does to kill humans. But for Rampton that does not prove that cyanide was used on people. He is outraged that in-depth scientific studies were not made of the area after all this time. One possibility is that it would have seemed disrespectful to assault the shrine-like area with investigators.

When Lipstadt and Rampton share a drink afterwards he admits to feeling shame. He worries that if he were a soldier at the camp he might have carried out orders given to him. He says that the world is full of cowards. His statement suggests that people, out of fear, will not stand up against tyranny. He quotes the poet Goethe who said, “The coward only threatens when he feels secure.” The implication is that it’s easy to be courageous when there is no threat to oneself for opposing what is wrong.

Other decisions that seem logical to Lipstadt are not practical in the courtroom against a manipulator like Irving. The lawyers want the case to be tried by a judge, not a jury. They don’t want Lipstadt to testify. They later get Irving to agree to a judge hearing the case by appealing to his massive ego, saying the regular juror couldn’t comprehend his scholarship. Rampton wants to keep the focus on Irving and “starve” him of any attempt to shift the argument away from his misrepresentations. Lipstadt is afraid that she will look like a coward for not taking the stand. He says it’s the “price” she must pay for “winning.” What seems right may not be so in the long run. And, the question of when to be brave depends on the circumstances.

Lipstadt has support from celebrities, but she also receives threats from onlookers in the crowd on the way to the courtroom. Julius warns her to alter her jogging route, which implies enemies could be tracking her. She must have courage in her fight against the fanatics who see her as a threat to their warped way of thinking.

Irving in his opening statement tries to connect being labeled a Holocaust “denier” to someone who wears a “verbal yellow star.” He is saying that being singled out to society as a “pariah” is what the Nazis did to the Jews. The implication here is that he, an anti-Semite, is comparing his plight to the Nazi discrimination against Jews. Lipstadt, and, of course, we, find the comparison loathsome, as well as being ironic. The film stresses the remark by focusing on the court recorder typing Irving’s words, making them part of the official record.

Rampton shows how historical books do not always show what really happened. He points out that in an earlier text, Irving included The Holocaust and then in a later volume, those references disappeared. He calls Irving not a historian, but a falsifier of history, a “liar.” Rampton said Irving embraced a report that nullified the idea that Hitler ordered the extermination at the camps. Rampton said Irving embraced this invalid report because “he wanted it to be true.” That statement is an accurate insight into how false conspiracy theories become accepted, how bigotry spreads. It’s a defiance of evidence to reinforce twisted notions that somehow give comfort to the believer, absolving him of the responsibility of his own actions and ideas. These warped beliefs may have been propagated among family and friends. The emphasis here is that we must perform due diligence, especially today, in verifying what we decide to accept as facts.

A female holocaust survivor confronts Lipstadt outside the courtroom, shows her numerical tattoo, and tells her that survivors should be allowed in court. Lipstadt already wanted that to happen, so she is torn. She promises the survivor that the stories will be heard, which is in direct contradiction to the defense’s strategy. She tells Julius about her meeting. He says the trial is not therapy for the victims to process their trauma. Lipstadt says it is not for them but for the families of those that did not survive. He is adamant and tells her she must break her promise to the survivor since his main goal is to win the case, while Lipstadt’s motives extend beyond the success of a personal verdict.

Irving interrogates a historian about Auschwitz’s gas chambers. He does what falsifiers do, he focuses on one aspect that doesn’t jive with the rest of the evidence to falsify an opposing argument entirely. There were supposedly columns that protruded through the roof of the gas chamber into which cyanide was deposited. Irving says there have been no observations of holes in the now dilapidated roof. Irving then escalates the rhetoric by calling those who claimed the openings were there are “liars!”

Irving orchestrated the latter testimony to occur at the end of the day so there would be no instant rebuttal. Despite photographs taken from airplanes that indicated openings on the roof, Irving will say that they do not verify holes. They could be shadows, or worse, forgeries. Lipstadt says Irving got his “viral” idea across, which definitely connects with how the internet works today. She says that Irving is suggesting that alternative views of history can be accepted. She wants to testify and wants the testimony of survivors to be part of the trial. Julius points to prior trials when those who were in Auschwitz were humiliated under interrogation, with Irving mockingly stating how a Jewish survivor made money over the years profiting from her tattoo. Julius is suggesting how character assassination undermines broader arguments.

Rampton confronts Irving in the courtroom with evidence of the grating over the gas chambers that contained cyanide residue. Irving says the only gassing was fumigation of cadavers to kill “typhus-bearing lice.” Rampton counters by saying then what was the need to have a secure door with a viewing portal. Corpses don’t have to be viewed or secured in a mortuary. There is a shot of the people inside the gas chamber looking terrified, which is what Lipstadt sees in her mind, the truth compared to what Irving describes. Rampton notes the ridiculousness of gassing corpses and then incinerating them, undermining Irving’s testimony. Why must these obvious contradictions be pointed out? Same answer as before, because truth can be a threat to closed minded beliefs.

Rampton has a private meeting in Lipstadt’s flat. She sees that what appeared from her perspective as coldness at Auschwitz was, as he puts it, checking out “the crime scene.” Her emotionalism must give way to a logical way of handling the problem in a legal manner. It has been difficult for her to give up autonomy. She says, “I have never trusted anyone to do anything on my behalf since I was a child. All I have is my voice and my conscience.” She has had to compromise. As Rampton says, “What feels best isn’t necessarily what works best.” She must engage in “self-denial” and hand over her conscience to another to “win.”

The defense presents a historian who shows that an order came from the German High Command that ordered to not have an individual train carrying Jews be liquidated. Irving altered the translation to say that Hitler himself ordered that no Jews at all were to be killed. The testimony shows how just the alteration of a few words can distort fact.

Rampton in court shows speeches that Irving gave that are bigoted and misogynistic. Irving argues sarcastically that there should be important news on the TV, and that nobody cares about The Holocaust which took place so long ago. Yet, he says, the Jews keep dwelling on it. He says that important news should be read by a man, less important new by a woman, and that a referenced Black newscaster should read about the muggings and other inner-city crimes. He is announcing the hierarchy of his prejudicial ranking. What is frightening is how many in the audience laugh at his ridiculing.

Irving brought the legal action because he believes he was labeled a racist incorrectly. But Rampton reads from the man’s diaries that show he told his own child a bigoted ditty that labels anyone who is not Aryan as being subhuman. Indoctrination into hate and derogatory attitudes towards others starts early on.

The point about leeway in historical texts is raised in court. Rampton argues that there is a difference between “negligence, which is random in its effect, and a deliberateness, which is far more one-sided.” He is saying that Irving intentionally falsified what actually happened in history in a textbook that is supposed to be taken as factual. However, the judge questions that if Irving believes in his antisemitism, then the implication is that he is being honest by saying what he believes. The defense maintains that belief in something should not condone altering the facts of what actually happened.

We get more bad weather. Well, it is England, and it is not ominous at this point. The judge announces that the defense wins the case. Those who refuse to change their slanted beliefs say Lipstadt is guilty anyway and shout out “Filthy Jew” as she walks through the streets with her lawyers. Bystanders also harass Irving, pelting him with an egg, but he receives cheers as well, which is very disturbing.

In a news conference Lipstadt says free speech means you can give your opinions, but you can’t lie and then expect not to be held accountable for those falsifications. Later Lipstadt watches Irving on TV, and the man acts like the judge was incapable of understanding his argument. To the bigot, all contrasting beliefs are invalid from the start. Everything must fit into the warped world view. Lipstadt says of Irving, “he used to be a Holocaust denier, and now he is a verdict denier.”

The movie warns us to be on guard against those who appeal to our unfounded fears and the hatred they spawn.

The Caine Mutiny

 SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

 

The Caine Mutiny (1954) deals with the strains of military command, and honor and self-sacrifice versus selfishness. The film begins with a graduation ceremony for ensigns in the U. S. Navy who are about to join the fight in WWII. The man giving the address uses high-minded words that do not anticipate what happens when the fight against the enemy is compromised by confrontation with fellow seamen. Willie Keith (Robert Francis), a Princeton graduate, is one of the ensigns who, despite his adult status as a military man, is controlled by his wealthy mother. Mrs. Keith (Katherine Warren) bullies him into coming to her party instead of celebrating with fellow soldiers. He disappoints his girlfriend, May Wynn (same as her actual name), by gesturing he will join up with her later instead of introducing her to his mother right then. Willie probably knows that his mother will not like any woman who lessens the connection to her. Willie meets the angry May later at the club where she sings. She becomes more upset when she realizes he only has a couple of days to spend with her until he ships out. There is the sexual implication that instead of going out that they could use the forty-eight hours otherwise. She stops him short, and suggests that they get married first. She knows he's dominated by his mother, and her hopes of liberating him fall flat as he dismisses the idea of a wedding.

 

After Mrs. Keith’s overprotective advice about staying safe no matter what, Willie travels to Pearl Harbor to board the Caine, a minesweeper, which is a dilapidated ship. It does not live up to Willie’s expectations of a battleship or aircraft carrier that would carry him into glorious battle. As one man says of the Caine, “the only thing that’s keeping the water out is rust.” Willie meets communications officer Lt. Tom Keefer (Fred MacMurray), who fancies himself a writer. If there is a villain in the story it is Tom, not Lt. Commander Queeg (Humphrey Bogart), the captain. Tom is an elitist who stirs up trouble but doesn’t have the courage to stand by his convictions, allowing others to take responsibility for actions he incites. He calls Willie’s orders, “Those monstrous papers that transform ex-civilians into men without minds.” His comment reveals his disdain and his prejudice as to how the military functions. (It’s interesting that the story is based on Herman Wouk’s novel, and that the writer made the author the bad guy).

 

Willie also encounters the executive officer, the second in command, Lt. Steve Maryk (Van Johnson). He is a man who becomes torn between his military loyalty and what he feels he must do to protect the other servicemen. Steve takes Willie to see the current captain, Blakely (Warner Anderson), who tells him he is in the “junkyard navy,” suggesting he better adjust his expectations. Tom orients both Willie and Ensign Barney Harding (Jerry Paris) while displaying his sarcasm. He says that during a year and a half they have yet to sweep one mine, which means that their equipment was “designed by geniuses to be run by idiots.” He says that to run the engine room, “all you need is any group of well-trained monkeys. Ninety-nine percent of everything we do is strict routine. Only one percent requires creative intelligence.” He continues to show contempt for those who must do the dirty, hard work of fighting the war. 

 

At lunch, Tom says that those assigned to the Caine are “all doing penance, sentenced to an outcast ship, manned by outcasts, and named after the greatest outcast of them all.” He is, of course, referring to Cain who killed his brother as told in the Bible. He is likening deployment on the ship as the equivalent of permanent exile for violating the rules of society. Blakely even complains about wanting relief from the Caine. He says he received a request from an admiral to have Willie transferred to his staff. His mother probably used her influence to try and have her son reassigned to a cushier position. Willie is obviously embarrassed by his mother’s attempt at gaining preferential treatment for him, and requests to stay onboard, to which Tom says he will regret that decision. Tom only cares about his own needs and is not concerned about integrity. Steve, however, puts himself in danger of a shark attack by diving overboard to retrieve some lost equipment, something the self-serving Tom would never do. 

 

Blakely summons Willie to reprimand him for not decoding and delivering a dispatch that the ensign forgot when he was aiding Steve in his rescue mission. Blakely enters a negative comment in Willie’s record. The ensign feels that it was just one mistake and that everyone on the Caine is not performing the way they should. He basically feels that Blakely’s negative stance encourages the poor attitude of the other sailors. It turns out that the dispatch stated that Blakely is being relieved. When asked if that is favorable to Willie, he says it is. His response turns out to fit the saying, “watch out what you wish for.”

 

Blakely tells the new captain, Queeg, the ship should be made into “razor blades” given its rundown appearance. This physically negative assessment also applies to the crew according to Blakely, but he says each man is a worthy soldier. However, being assigned to a second-rate vessel most likely plays into Queeg’s doubts about his own self-esteem which places self-imposed pressure on him to counter the look of failure with which he has become associated. Blakely unofficially accepts a watch as a going-away gift from the sailors, but says that he will run it one half-hour late to remind him of the fouled-up crew of the Caine. He’s being falsely sarcastic, but it does reflect the negativity that the men of the Caine have come to adopt. 

 

Queeg’s first interaction with the officers of the crew is standard military toughness tempered by some humor as Queeg says he had some tough times in the Atlantic and sometimes thought the enemy was going after him personally. They laugh but it does hint at Queeg’s paranoia that becomes overt later. Blakely was loose with the rules and said that may have made him a lesser captain. Queeg is just the opposite, wanting unreasonably high standards to be followed. He considers himself a “book” man, and says that he is the ultimate authority since there is “the right way, the wrong way, the Navy way, and my way” of doing things. He rewrites accepted standards of performance to fit his level of desired achievement by saying, “excellent performance is standard, standard performance is sub-standard, and sub-standard performance is not permitted to exist.” On the one hand he sounds extremely exacting; however, could it be that the crew’s acceptance of mediocrity aids in bringing out the worst in Queeg? 

 We get an immediate example of Queeg’s placing overemphasis on small details to build up his sense of self-worth when he tells his officers that untucked shirt tails, non-regulation haircuts, and facial hair will not be permitted. He assigns Willie to be the “morale officer,” but the annoying rules that he must impose produce the opposite of creating good feelings onboard. Queeg says they have been assigned to tow targets and they will be the best at that job. He pulls out three metal balls that he rotates in his right hand which becomes a manifestation of his obsessive, ruminating mind. One could say that he is losing his “marbles,” his mental faculties, and he is trying to hold onto them before going insane. After Queeg leaves the cabin, Willie says the captain “certainly is Navy,” to which Tom wittily says, “Yeah, so was Captain Bligh.” His comment indicates that an overzealous attitude toward adherence to regulations can lead to cruelty. Since Bligh’s actions led to the mutiny on the Bounty, Tom’s remark is also a foreshadowing. 

During the assignment, one of the seamen, nicknamed “Horrible” (Claude Akins), the name possibly implying the state of affairs on the Caine, wears his shirt out because of a heat rash. Not a good enough excuse for Queeg. He yells through the public address system for Willie and then also blames Tom since he was the officer on deck during this lack of regulatory appearance. He tells Tom that his duties preclude his novel writing, which is all that Tom really cares about. Queeg’s focus on minor infractions allows him to lose sight of more important issues. As he yells at the crewmen, the Caine continues on the course Queeg set and the ship navigates in a circle and cuts the target towing line. Queeg is so insecure he can’t admit he is at fault, so blame must be placed elsewhere, and instead says the towing line was faulty. 

 

Queeg then shifts his harsh manner to a more genial one when talking with Willie. He shows that he is a character with different facets. He attempts to explain his concern about “petty” details, saying “big things are made up of details.” He says that a loose nail in a horseshoe can lead to the loss of a battle. Because of this point of view, he admits that a captain’s job can be lonely and misunderstood. In a way, he is looking for some relief from that isolation. He tells Willie, “Forget that I bawled you out.” Willie seems relieved. But Queeg tends to veer off his mental course when he can’t see the big picture of the forest by concentrating on the individual trees. 

 Tom receives a message that the Caine must return to San Francisco, and he believes Queeg will be reprimanded for the towing line incident, and he reminds Willie he will be able to see May. However, Willie doesn't seem excited about the prospect, since his relationship with her most likely reminds him of his inability to stand up to his mother. It is interesting that Willie’s taking orders from his mother led him to being a soldier taking commands. Mrs. Keith and May meet him at the pier, and he first gravitates toward his mother but then quickly introduces May. His attempt at independence continues as he plans some time at Yosemite Park with May. His mother makes him promise not to do anything “rash,” which means getting married, which would loosen the tightness of her apron strings. 

 

At Yosemite, Willie’s attempted defiance of his mother’s rule is evident as he says he came without needing any permission. It is suggested that he and May spent the night together, since in response to his marriage proposal the next day she says she doesn’t want him to feel obligated to marry her because he feels it is “the decent thing to do.” She tells him “no” about the marriage because she sees that he is more concerned with making a show of independence than really not caring what his mother wants. She says that he will be miserable without Mrs. Keith’s blessing. So, his default position is taking orders. Later Tom emphasizes this point when he tells Willie that he has to get over being impressed by those in authority, like captains and parents. This sequence allows for some time off of the boat, but some may argue that the romantic sublot distracts from the suspense of the main story.

 

Contrary to Tom’s prediction, Queeg is still the captain, who says that there was some misunderstanding about what happened with the tow line. Queeg said that they were in San Francisco to get new radar equipment installed as opposed to Queeg’s removal, which is what Tom had hoped for. Queeg told the admiral that he was at a disadvantage in inheriting such a lowly ship and crew and that he would work to compensate for this fact. Any mistakes he makes he denies and places the blame on others, which is a political maneuver. Their new orders are to assist in an invasion. 

 

During the mission to escort Marines in amphibious landing craft to a beach, Queeg makes a couple of blunders, allowing the inexperienced Willie to take command and thus putting the Marines in danger of a collision with the Caine. Steve compensates for these mistakes. There is heavy fire around them and Queeg appears shaken. He possibly is experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder from previous battles. He pulls out of the area too quickly and leaves a yellow dye marker in a feeble attempt to help the Marines navigate to shore.

The yellow stain becomes a symbol for the men of Queeg’s supposed cowardice. They even make up a sarcastic song called “Old Yellowstain.” Steve hears them and puts a stop to it since it is cruel as he sees it to insult the man. Queeg has another meeting where he says he doesn’t feel well, probably because he is upset by his actions during the assignment. He again shows his humanity as he tries to make a connection, as he did with Willie, by saying he has a wife, child and a dog who are fond of him, so he is like the crew, and they should not be afraid of him. He says he can use “constructive loyalty,” so he is asking for “help.” He likens a ship to a family, which, despite differing ideas, the members “pitch in for the good of the family.” His eyes shift around as if seeking some support and says he would listen to their suggestions. Nobody reaches out a hand to help the shaky captain, so what follows is not entirely Queeg’s fault.

 

After the meeting, Steve looks at the plaque that shows that the ship is named after a war hero, not the biblical criminal that Tom metaphorically suggested. Fiction writers do warp reality. Tom has no sympathy for Queeg and amusedly suggests contacting columnist Walter Winchell, another winter, to go outside the chain of command to blow the whistle on Queeg. Steve and Willie were moved by Queeg’s speech, but Willie says the man turned coward on them. Steve points out Willie’s inexperience and stresses that Queeg has been worn down by his past combat encounters. Tom quashes any sentimentality, which is what a writer should do, but not necessarily a human being. Tom doesn’t see Queeg as being exhausted by war but instead paints him as a “Freudian delight.” He says that he has a pathology that indicates paranoia separate from his military life. Tom says the metal balls, not looking others straight on (which would most likely imply looking for threats), and constant headaches point to mental problems. Steve is defensive, saying “everybody’s a screwball in some way. That doesn’t make them crazy.” Tom, always thinking of his own interests, says he will not go to the fleet physician’s office with Steve unless he supports Tom’s viewpoint. Steve doesn’t believe the diagnosis at this point and says they must drop the accusations immediately or he will report them.

 

Tom’s comments have worked their way into Steve’s thoughts. He reads a book about mental disorders and begins a log about possible examples of Queeg’s psychiatric problems. Incidents are enacted showing Queeg not informed about the showing of a movie and then prohibiting films for thirty days. It’s possible since he wasn’t notified, his subconscious felt neglected, and he lashed out in retribution. He penalizes everyone by denying recreational liberty because some are not wearing combat gear during an exercise. He actually sees a few men not outfitted but by the time Willie looks all the men are equipped, and it appears to him that Queeg is seeing things that aren’t there. Steve notes that the morale on the ship is very low.

 The famous incident that follows in this story revolves around a gift the ship received from another vessel which consisted of a gallon of frozen strawberries. Queeg calls his officers together at one o’clock in the morning about the remainder of the fruit that he says is missing. He has a steward dole out sand to represent the portions eaten at dinner and interrogates each officer as to the number of servings they had. He says there should be a quart remaining. Not only was this a prized gift that he sees as having been stolen, but he continues to see himself as the victim of conspiracies to make him look like a fool, which would point to a paranoid state of mind. He orders an investigation to go through the night, an extreme demand considering this “petty” incident that is similar to one he talked about earlier.

 The officers, represented by Steve and Tom, report that their findings were inconclusive. Queeg of course is unsatisfied and says that he has been able to reason it out that a duplicate key to the icebox was fashioned by the crook. Of course, there is no evidence of this fact, only a possibility that Queeg has constructed to justify his warped view of events. Queeg’s plan is to collect all the keys onboard and label which ones belonged to whom. Then have the men strip so they can’t hide any keys. The key that opens the door will identify the thief. He relates that he found the culprit of a similar crime on another ship. Thus, his pathology has its roots earlier on. Queeg insists that the strawberry felon will not toss the key because he went to too much trouble to make it, which is a dubious claim. There is joking about the whole affair during the stripping, as Meatball (Lee Marvin) wants to know if they will x-ray him to see if he swallowed the key. Harding is leaving because his wife is ill, and he confides to Steve, Tom, and Willie that he saw the mess seamen eat the rest of the strawberries. He told Queeg who threatened him with a delayed departure if he revealed the facts. Queeg didn’t want his theory about the key undermined since it would make him look foolish. He probably wanted to show himself off as a great detective. 

 

Tom tells Steve that Queeg is reenacting his triumph over discovering the cheese robber, implying he is attempting to bolster his paranoid ego. Tom is like Iago whispering in Othello’s ear, urging him to act on his suspicions. He quotes regulations that would allow Steve to relieve Queeg of command. After the strawberry investigation, Steve asks Tom and Willie to accompany him to talk to the fleet admiral. But, the cowardly Tom pulls out since he only wants others to take risks to get what he wants. He says that the admiral will not believe them since those not on the Caine haven’t seen Queeg’s mannerisms and will side with Queeg since it will only seem like he was disciplining them. He even admits that he has, “a yellow streak fifteen miles wide. I’m too smart to be brave,” which shows how he has disdain for those soldiers who put their lives on the line to protect their country. The film suggests that his selfishness would mean defeat in war if all are as “smart” as he is. Steve abandons the meeting since he needed Tom to make the argument. 

 

A typhoon engulfs the area. Queeg will not admit they are in trouble which fits with his concern over his self-esteem. He freezes when the ship is in danger of sinking because he wants to hold to the course that was initially ordered. He doesn’t want to look like he is not following his assignment. But Steve points out that the orders did not take into account the danger they are in. Steve relieves him and changes course, saving the ship. Queeg, not willing to admit his inability to handle his duties then says all officers who go along with Steve will all be convicted of mutiny.

 Barney Greenwald (Jose Ferrer), a lawyer, meets with Steve, Willie, and Tom, who says he is “holding” the coat of the other man, and says he is a “friend of the family.” His inappropriate humor does not fit the seriousness of the situation, which Greenwald points out. Tom will not put himself in the same category of the other two as he distances himself from the effects resulting from his actions. Greenwald says he thinks what happened “stinks,” and that eight other lawyers turned down the case. He is there to talk with Steve before he decides to defend him. This resistance to defend Steve’s actions shows how the allegiance to the chain of command is difficult to counter. Greenwald points out that a few ships were lost regardless of the competency of the captains because of the ferocity of the storm. The overwhelming number of ships in the fleet were saved without having to remove captains, the lawyer says. Greenwald points out that the Navy has psychiatrists that will testify to Queeg’s sanity. Tom says Steve should get a medal and that paranoids are shrewd at not being detected. He says, “They walk a thin line between sanity and lunacy.” Greenwald points out that Tom is no psychiatrist, but if he was the one who first recognized Queeg’s symptoms, then he can testify. He tells Tom that he will share in the responsibility for the removal of Queeg if he does so. Tom points out that he isn’t on trial and walks out. Steve is honorable, unlike Tom, and says it’s his responsibility alone for what happened. Greenwald says he’d rather be the prosecutor, but takes the case. Greenwald is sarcastic when he says that Steve will plead not guilty because he is “a great naval hero.”

 Lt. Commander Challee (E. G. Marshall) is the prosecutor who points out Queeg’s experience and the crew’s subjective dislike of the captain for being strict. When Tom is on the stand he lies that he wasn’t the one that suggested Queeg’s mental illness and says he wasn’t on the bridge to determine who was right or wrong When Steve relieved Queeg. He then says that he did not think the evidence shows that Queeg should have been relieved of command. He sells out Steve to save his own skin. Greenwald doesn’t cross-examine because he says that Tom will just continue to lie and make it more difficult for Steve. (One may question why Greenwald would not recall Willie to the stand to contradict Tom’s testimony). Willie, outside the courtroom and ignorant of the testimony, thinks Tom is good with words and knows what he was doing. Tom says, “Yeah, I knew what I was doing.” It shows that he realizes how he double-crossed his friend. 

 

Lt Commander Dickson (Whit Bissell) says that Queeg was not mentally unstable, but says he compensated for his problems. Greenwald brings out that Queeg had an inferiority complex brought about by his childhood and arduous service that made him have “rigidity of personality, feelings of persecution, unreasonable suspicion, a mania for perfection, and a neurotic certainty that he is always in the right.” He gets the doctor to admit that Queeg has a paranoid personality. Dickson says that that kind of disorder would not cause a problem for someone in command. Greenwald points out Dickson’s lack of naval experience so he was not qualified personally to know how the strains of naval command would act upon a paranoid personality. But Dickson saw those in positions of authority in private life, so the prosecutor tries to show that Dickson’s judgment is sound.

 Steve is not convincing as a witness since he hasn’t the understanding to professionally judge Queeg’s mental competence. But, he says, as Willie pointed out earlier, these distanced reviewers were not witnessing Queeg’s actions firsthand. 

 

Queeg takes the stand and reverses the accusations, stating that Steve was the one who was acting wildly and thought he was the only one who was in the right. Queeg says that Willie was a poor officer who sided with Steve, but he is not angry with them and says he feels “extremely sorry for them.” He is crafty, as Tom said, and appears very reasonable at this point. When Greenwald questions him, Queeg’s personality problems surface when he is under stress. He admits to several crewmen being disloyal, and becomes flustered when answering about cutting the towline and dropping a yellow dye so he could steam away from an intense situation. He becomes agitated when insisting that there was a duplicate key to the freezer housing the strawberries. When Greenwald says he can produce Ensign Hardy who will state that he told Queeg that the mess seamen ate the remaining strawberries and that Queeg conducted a false search to justify his prior accusations. It is at this point that Queeg pulls out his marbles in his hand and says that Harding will only tell lies. The court can now see Queeg’s agitation and paranoia for themselves, which surfaces under stress that is far less intense than that of a ship in a typhoon. 

 

There is a celebration following the court’s acquittal of Steve, which is inappropriate given how an experienced officer was humiliated in court. Tom shows up and is grateful to Steve for not telling the others how he sold his friend out. Steve is a decent man who turns the other cheek and says to just forget it. Greenwald arrives, drunk, and sick about his part in the court martial. He indicts the partygoers for their lack of empathy and refusal to help Queeg when he was open to connecting with his fellow officers. He sees their actions as contributing to the man’s downfall. Greenwald points out that people like Queeg were protecting the country while those like the young Willie were at Princeton. Greenwald then confronts Tom, and calls him the “man who should’ve stood trial,” and he discloses what Tom said on the stand. Greenwald says to Tom that, “you hated the Navy. And then you made up this whole idea. And you managed to keep your skirts nice and starched and clean, even in the court martial. Steve Maryk will always be remembered as a mutineer. But you, you’ll publish your novel, you’ll make a million bucks, you’ll marry a big movie star, and for the rest of your life you’ll live with your conscience, if you have any. Now here’s to the real author of “The Caine Mutiny.” Here’s to you, Mr. Keefer.” Greenwald is likening Tom’s manipulation of people as to how a writer controls his fictional characters. He then throws his glass of champagne in Tom’s face and says he’ll wait for him outside if he wants to fight concerning what he said. Greenwald stresses Tom’s lack of courage for what he stands for when he says, “I’m a lot drunker than you are, so it will be a fair fight.”

 

Willie finally seems to find the balance he sought between service to others and individuality. He defies his mother and marries May but then reports to his new ship that happens to have his original skipper, Blakely, as captain. The man, like Steve, does not carry a grudge about Willie’s earlier disapproval of him, and maybe actually agrees now with Willie’s original assessment of him. He allows Willie to take the ship out so that the young ensign can gain the experience needed to be a successful leader.

The next film is Safe.

A Few Good Men

 SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

 

A Few Good Men (1992), directed by Rob Reiner and written by Aaron Sorkin, asks whether orders should always be carried out, or are there situations when they are be questioned. Do desirable ends justify unscrupulous means? It also deals with who takes responsibility within the military for the ramifications of those orders. 

 

The opening shot is of a fence with barbed wire and armed towers defending the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, an American outpost on an island that is a Communist nation, one that is at odds with the capitalist United States. This image is symbolic of the division not only between America and its enemies but also of conflicting stances within the military concerning its practices.

 

At night, when actions take place that are not condoned in the light of day, two soldiers, Private Louden Downey (James Marshall) and Corporal Harold Dawson (Wolfgang Bodison) invade the room of Private William Santiago (Michael De Lorenzo). They shove a rag into his mouth and tie him up with duct tape. Here we have violence against a fellow soldier. So, a comrade in arms is treated like an enemy. 

 

Next, as the titles run, we have images of the American Flag and a military marching band along with an impressive display of synchronized discipline as Marines present their rifles in various displays that show the soldiers operating as a fluid, interconnected machine. This scene of united precision follows the one of internal, fracturing violence within the ranks. 

 

Lt. Commander JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore) is on her way to the Judge Advocate General’s Corps in Washington, D. C., to request that she be assigned as counsel for Dawson and Downey. Her rehearsing of what she is about to say shows a lack of confidence, which will improve as the story proceeds. She visits Captain West (John M. Jackson) concerning the court martial trial. She prefers to stand but is basically ordered to sit down. This exchange not only shows the dominance of authority in the military but also implies an extra degree of male control over a woman. We now learn from Galloway that Santiago died shortly after the assault. The assumption is that the action against Santiago was to prevent him from implicating Dawson “in a fence-line shooting incident.” Galloway believes that because Dawson and Downey were exemplary Marines and Santiago was considered a “screwup,” that there is an indication that the attack was a “Code Red.” We at this point do not know what that term refers to, but West obviously does, and sees it as a “messy” situation he would not want exposed. Galloway asks, in the same previous halting manner, that she be assigned to the case and the trial be held in Washington. After making her step out, West discusses her request with the other officers in the room, who point out that Galloway is special counsel for Internal Affairs, is a great investigator, but has little trial experience. West agrees that the proceedings be moved to the United States Capital, but wants a swift plea bargaining deal (in other words, sweep the affair under the rug), and the division will assign a capable lawyer.

 

In contrast to West’s statement, the next scene shows us that desired legal representative, Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise), a wise-cracking attorney who does not look like a serious litigator. He is playing baseball (the bat he swings later becomes a metaphor for how he will beat the opposition), and is superficial when it comes to his cases, only caring about how many of them he has finalized through compromises so that they never reach a courtroom. An irritated prosecutor, Lt. Dave Spradling (Matt Craven), arrives. His uniformed appearance contrasts with the relaxed look sported by Kaffee, indicating the latter’s nonchalant attitude. Spradling complains that Kaffee missed their meeting, implying incompetence on Kaffee’s part. But Kaffee knows the law. He quotes various legal actions that will bury Spradling in paperwork, and points out that his client only bought “a dime bag of oregano,” which means he is not guilty of a law, but is only “a moron.” His remark may be funny, but it is also condescending, and humility is something Kaffee is short on, at least on the surface. His humor is obvious when he asks if the prosecutor is going to charge the man for being in “possession of a condiment.” Kaffee gets his deal.

 

At a meeting with Lt. Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollack) in attendance, Kaffee is late and doesn’t even know what a “fence line” is in Cuba, which again shows his lack of dedicated involvement in his job. He is given the case involving Dawson illegally shooting into enemy territory and Santiago’s subsequent death. The examining physician said the rag contained some type of poison, which the defendants claim was not so. Kaffee has to go to Cuba and the family man Weinberg, who has a baby at home and does not want to travel with Kaffee, is nevertheless assigned as backup. As Weinberg rightly assumes, he has “no responsibilities whatsoever.” So, the implication is his job is supposed to just make things look efficient, not thorough.

 Kaffee (eating an apple, looking like a youngster more at home on the schoolyard than a legal office, and forgetting the name of the person he is to see) and Weinberg (who repeats that he has no responsibilities whatsoever) go to see Galloway. Obviously, Galloway is not impressed by the selection of counsel. Galloway doesn’t think she was taken seriously about her interest in the case given that Kaffee is out of law school for only a little over a year. Weinberg tries to assure Galloway of Kaffee’s competence, saying he has “successfully plea-bargained 44 cases in nine months,” to which the cavalier Kaffee adds, “one more, I get a set of steak knives.” When asked if he’s been in a courtroom, he continues his humorous attitude by saying he was in one involving his driver’s license. She tells Kaffee that he will be seeing the barracks Commanding Officer, Col. Nathan Jessup, who Kaffee naturally does not know. Weinberg fills him in that the man has been in the newspapers and will be the next “director of operations of the National Security Council,” which means he will be in the White House. Galloway gives Kaffee the numerous letters Santiago wrote requesting a transfer. He offered to expose Dawson’s wrongful gunshot to get out of Guantanamo, thus giving Dawson a motive. Kaffee can’t even remember the victim’s name but because he assumes the letters paint a bad picture of Marine life on base, he can get the prosecution to “drop the conspiracy and conduct unbecoming” charges and reduce the sentence to twelve years. She is alarmed that he hasn’t studied the records or interviewed anybody, and already concluded the case to his satisfaction. She tells him he will have to “go deeper,” whereas Kaffee is happy to remain on the emotional surface. She says her job is to make sure he does his job properly, and as he gets up to leave, she tells him he is “dismissed.” Her command stresses how even though she is a woman, she outranks him. It shows her being in a powerful position now, as opposed to her subservient first meeting about the case. Galloway warns against Kaffee using his smart mouth at Guantanamo because the Marines there are fanatical about “being Marines.” (The title of the film refers to an old advertising slogan for the U. S. Marine Corps which said that they were looking for “few good men.” The implication was that there were not that many men who were good enough to qualify for that branch of the service. As this story points out, that sense of elitism can draw some scary individuals).

 

What follows is a dramatization as Santiago’s voice is heard reading one of his letters. He notes that he was feeling dizzy and nauseated during practice maneuvers. He was literally pushed by his sergeant at one point and he fell down a steep hill and blacked out. He was diagnosed with heat exhaustion, and decided he wanted a transfer. At the mess hall Santiago eats alone, not welcomed by his fellow soldiers, most likely because they felt superior to him and thought he did not dedicate himself to performing like a true Marine. 

 Col. Jessup (Jack Nicholson) finishes Santiago’s letter in his own voice and is upset that the soldier has broken the chain of command by sending out letters all over the place asking for a transfer and using a fellow Marine as a bargaining chip. Lt. Col. Matthew Markinson (J. T. Walsh) says they should transfer Santiago to avoid bad publicity. Jessup frames his sarcasm in an exaggerated polite manner and says Markinson must be right, so maybe they should transfer everyone off of the base. He calls in his assistant, Tom (Josh Malina) to tell the President that they are surrendering their position in Cuba. Because there is no questioning of orders in the Marines, Tom is ready to carry out the ridiculous command, and Jessup has to stop him from doing so. Jessup continues with his sarcastic attitude by suggesting that maybe they should be training Santiago instead to protect the country, because he knows he “read that somewhere.” He drops the snide attitude and says that Santiago isn’t going anywhere, and he tells platoon leader Lt. Jonathan Kendrick (Keifer Sutherland) that he should make sure that Santiago does well on his next evaluation or else Jessup will blame Kendrick and then “kill” him. Fear and intimidation seem to be the tools Jessup uses to get his way. 

 

Markinson states that he believes what Jessup is doing is not the right way to proceed. In private, Jessup says he thinks Kendrick is a “weasel,” but that he is a good soldier, and he is in sync with what Jessup believes good soldiering entails. He says that they are in the business of saving lives, and for Jessup, there is no leeway in trying to reach that goal. He notes that he and Markinson went to the academy together, were commissioned together, and did their tours in Vietnam together. But Jessup has been promoted quicker, and if that upsets Markinson, Jessup says he doesn’t “give a shit.” He comes down hard by saying, “Don’t ever question my orders in front of another officer.” Jessup uses the iron rule that comes with his dictatorial position. In this case, that authority empowers a narcissist like Jessup, who sees everything being about himself. So, he can’t even consider that Markinson’s opinion has to do with the well-being of the soldier and not about envy. 

 

Back in Washington there is a shot of the statue that shows Marines raising the American flag on Iwo Jima. It is a symbol of brotherhood and victory which appeals to patriotic zeal. The film does not lose sight of this type of accomplishment, but it also presents how the methods to achieve military successes can be abused. The shot is followed by Dawson and Downey arriving handcuffed, being both physically and psychologically restrained. Downey is confused as he views the seat of the government that he thought he was serving but now instead is punishing him. 

 Galloway visits Kaffee at his favorite spot, the baseball field, where he is practicing hitting but has neglected practicing law, since he hasn’t consulted Dawson and Downey. Galloway has researched Kaffee’s background and found his father was Lionel Kaffee, who was an esteemed man, having been a Navy Judge Advocate and an attorney general of the United States. It doesn’t seem coincidental that the supposedly aloof Kaffee joined the Navy. Perhaps he wants to be close to his father’s legacy. But maybe he is intimidated by the man’s accomplishments, and puts on a show of not even trying to achieve courtroom success so as not to be compared to his dad. Galloway, however, is upset that he will handle the present case in a “fast-food, slick-ass, Persian bazaar manner,” and the defendants will suffer for it. She doesn’t believe that the two Marines are guilty of murder. After being harangued, Kaffee cuts the act and shows he has researched the case. He knows that Santiago died of asphyxiation brought on by lactic acidosis, and the medical report “strongly suggests poison.” She argues that the doctor took a while to announce the cause of death. The implication here is that the physician may have been persuaded to make a determination that would put the blame on Dawson and Downey. Since Kaffee thinks the Marines are guilty, she wants him removed. But he points out that since he was assigned by Division, he will remain on the case. She asks if he knows what a Code Red is, and the look on Kaffee’s face reveals he doesn’t, which means despite acting like he understands what’s happening, he doesn’t.

 Kaffee and Weinberg meet with Dawson and Downey, and their different military perspectives are apparent. The Marines are trained to repeat “sir” often, and act by-the-book, whereas Kaffee promotes an informal approach, and the two styles grate on each other. Dawson informs Kaffee that a Code Red is a disciplinary action carried out by soldiers in a unit to get a comrade back “on track.” An example is if a soldier doesn’t bathe regularly, he gets a “G.I shower” involving Brillo pads and steel wool. Ouch! Dawson insists that they were ordered to perform a Code Red on Santiago, which only entailed shaving his head. Downey, who doesn’t understand why he is on trial for following orders, says there was no poisonous substance on the rag they put in Santiago’s mouth, and when they saw blood dripping down the man’s face they called an ambulance. Dawson admits to firing into Cuban territory because an enemy soldier was ready to shoot at him. So, he is saying his action was in self-defense. But that’s not how the official report reads. Dawson says the Code Red was issued because Santiago went outside the chain of command and he didn’t put “his unit before himself.” That suggests that a Marine shouldn’t think about his own personal safety before those of his fellow soldiers, which makes Santiago seem selfish by military standards. Dawson says a Marine must respect “the code,” which is in order of importance, “Unit, Corps, God, Country.” The level of loyalty to the branch of service is so demanding that it supersedes allegiance to the Almighty and the nation, and Kaffee sees that fact as a difficult stance to defend.

 The prosecuting attorney is Captain Jack Ross (Kevin Bacon) who says he will be asking for twenty years and Dawson and Downey will only serve half. Kaffee sticks to his prior plea for twelve years, and then asks about Code Reds. Off the record, Ross says he’ll grant the twelve-year sentences, but Kaffee should know that Kendrick told the unit that Santiago was not to be disciplined. Kaffee will not close the deal until he returns from Cuba. These two are friends, and even joke with each other, but they have to be opponents even though they respect each other. Galloway wants to cooperate with Kaffee, probably because she has no choice, and secured authorization from Downey’s only living relative, Aunt Ginny (Maud Winchester), so Galloway will be going to Cuba, too. Kaffee envisions the aunt as a rural hick and an old lady but who turns out to be an intelligent young woman, showing Kaffee’s preconceived notions can be wrong.

 

Kaffee confers with Weinberg because it was too easy getting the sentence he wanted. Kaffee also wonders why Ross brought up the story about Kendrick, since Kaffee doesn’t even know about the officer. He most likely is considering there is a cover-up going on. Weinberg believes the story told by the Marines, but still thinks that they “ought to go to jail for the rest of their lives.” He implies that blindly following orders to assault another soldier which causes his death is a punishable offense. So, he sees a twelve-year sentence as a “gift.” 

 

Cpl. Jeffrey Barnes (Noah Wyle) picks up Kaffee, Weinberg, and Galloway at the landing site at Guantanamo, and tells them they must wear camouflage jackets because their white uniforms will indicate they are officers worthy of enemy fire. This fact stresses the danger that the country’s soldiers are faced with every day. It is funny that they have to take a boat and Kaffee doesn’t like riding in one, despite being in the Navy. They go to Marine Barracks Windward to meet Jessup, who is accompanied by Markinson and Kendrick. Markinson once saw Kaffee’s father in person, and Jessup realizes that Lionel Kaffee argued for school integration in the South, which suggests that a defiance of unjust practices runs in the family. 

 Kendrick takes the lawyers on an orientation tour where he says that despite having an “informer” among them, he told his soldiers Santiago must not be harmed. The word “informer” has more than a negative connotation concerning the individual doing the informing because it can also mean that there is something being hidden that should be exposed. They go to Santiago’s room that still has blood stains on the bedding and floor. Kaffee sees that the Marine’s closet was filled with his uniforms (which becomes an important fact later). Kendrick’s Marine superiority is evident as he will not permit Kaffee to call him by his first name, and says when Marines have to fight, Navy “fellas” give them a “ride,” which suggests that is all the sailors are good for. When Galloway asks Kendrick if he believes that Santiago was murdered, Kendrick’s self-righteous response is “I believe in God, and His son Jesus Christ” which justifies him saying that Santiago died because “he had no code” and therefore “no honor, and God was watching.” Kendrick thinks that those who dare to question or defy what the Marine Corps dictates will suffer divine wrath. There is no room here for independent thinking.

 The meeting with Jessup reveals his contemptuousness for the Navy lawyers who dare to investigate his handling of the Santiago matter. Jessup reveals that before Santiago died, he was scheduled to take the first flight off the base the next morning at six o’clock for his own safety, once it became known that Santiago was offering information to trade for a release. Kaffee is in a rush to leave, but Galloway wants to know, despite orders prohibiting Code Red’s, if any took place under Jessup’s command. Jessup tries to shut her down by making a sexist statement, saying because Galloway is of higher rank than Kaffee, it makes for a more sexually provocative interaction, as if a woman’s qualifications aren’t what’s important in promoting her. He is crude, too, in order to intimidate Galloway, by saying if someone hasn’t gotten “a blow job from a superior officer, well, you’re just letting the best in life pass you by.” She does not let him deter her and she says he must answer, at which point he warns her about her “tone,” which is not deferential toward him. He admits that officially he discourages Code Reds, but unofficially he says they are an “invaluable part of close-infantry training,” and if they occur without his knowledge, that’s fine with him, adding basically that he is the sole person who decides how to run his base. The contradiction here is obvious: Jessup is a Marine, who believes in taking orders, unless he is ordered to do something that he doesn’t like. He tries to justify his stance because he puts his life on the line every day, so outsiders don’t have the right to question his methods. 

 

On the way out Kaffee says he needs a copy of Santiago’s transfer order. Jessup now aims his superiority at Kaffee, trying to undermine his masculinity by saying he wears a “faggoty white uniform,” and demands Kaffee has to ask him “nicely” for any help. This scene shows that Jessup requires others to beg for anything from such an exalted personage as himself. Since he is dismissive of Kaffee’s Harvard degree, Jessup shows how that doesn’t make Kaffee exempt from giving Jessup some “fucking courtesy.”

 

Back at his place in Washington, Kaffee has the baseball game on, but he uncharacteristically isn’t paying attention, probably on edge about how Jessup acted. He holds his baseball bat and grips it as if he is ready to take some swings at an opponent. Galloway shows up and says Markinson disappeared just after they left Cuba, which suggests that there is something off about the case. Galloway says she thinks Kendrick ordered a Code Red, and her statement gives Kaffee enough of a push to go and ask Dawson if that was the case. The Marine confirms the order. Kaffee is angry that he didn’t say so earlier, and Dawson says he wasn’t asked. The suggestion is that the military way of not volunteering anything, unless prompted to do so, is detrimental if the information involves the well-being of the individual. Galloway intervenes and gets Dawson to state that although Kendrick gave orders to leave Santiago alone, right after that meeting he told Dawson and Downey to discipline Santiago. With this specific information, Kaffee tells Ross that the defendants were ordered to attack Santiago. Ross, who doesn't know anything about Kendrick issuing a Code Red, says that there is no evidence of Dawson's story, and Markinson was in counterintelligence for seventeen years, so they will never find him, saying, “There is no Markinson.” Ross admits, in order to not have anything interfere with Jessup’s future, he is authorized to offer sentences of two years for involuntary manslaughter, and Dawson and Downey will actually get discharged in six months. The movie implies condemnation of those in power who want a megalomaniac like Jessup in power. Galloway doesn’t want to accept the deal, but Ross tells her what the silent Kaffee is thinking, which is that in court Ross will charge the men with conspiracy, murder, etc., and Kaffee, not a trial lawyer, will lose and likely have his clients go away for life.

 

There is the image of a floodlit Washington Monument, another symbol of “liberty and justice for all,” but the question here is will the handling of this case live up to that standard. Kaffee tells Dawson and Downey about the deal, which he makes sound like he pulled a legal rabbit out of his lawyer’s hat. But these men aren’t about compromises, as they have been drilled in doing their “job” as ordered, which they see as honorable, no matter what the “consequences.” Dawson says he will not plead guilty because the two men have a moral center that they found in the Marine Corps code, and not sticking to what they believe is right means they will agree to a dishonorable discharge. Dawson is saying that he will not voluntarily forfeit his honor, but will accept a court’s determination on the merits of the case. Kaffee meets with Dawson alone, trying to get the Marine to take responsibility for what he is subjecting Downey to. Dawson asks Kaffee if he thinks he and Downey were “right.” Kaffee says he thinks they will lose. We have here an idealistic man colliding with a practical one, who may have become cynical about what is right and what is wrong. Dawson calls Kaffee a “coward,” most likely because he believes Kaffee doesn’t stand for anything, and says he can’t believe he wears a uniform with that lack of a code of conduct. Dawson refuses to salute Kaffee on his way out, showing his contempt for the man.

 

Kaffee wants new counsel assigned since he sees his connection to Dawson as broken. Weinberg has no sympathy for the defendants, likening them to the Nazis at the Nuremberg trials and the Vietnam My Lai incident, implying that the “I was just taking orders” defense doesn’t work. Kaffee disagrees with Weinberg, saying Dawson and Downey aren’t like the Nazis because the Marines were “executing an order they never believed would result in harm.” After being with Kaffee, Galloway now thinks he is a winner and Dawson and Downey need him. Kaffee insists that they need a new lawyer. Angry, Galloway says he is intimidated by his father’s greatness and calls Kaffee “an ambulance chaser with a rank.” She sees him devoid of passion and purpose, and that is why, as a human being, she says he “is nothing.” 

 Kaffee takes time for contemplation, and at the arraignment stays on to represent Dawson and Downey, and pleads “not guilty.” He now puts his ego aside and objectively observes that he was chosen because he makes deals so that the case would never get to trial, He tells the other two to get ready to prepare for the trial, and then amusingly observes, “So this is what a courtroom looks like.” At Kaffee’s apartment, Weinberg looks like he wants off the case as he still argues Dawson and Downey carried out an illegal order, and are therefore guilty. Kaffee is entering the mindset of the Marines and says they follow orders no matter what, so the implication is that it is the person issuing the illegal order that is the true guilty person. Also, when there is an immediate life and death situation, as can be the case in the military, the suggestion here is that the training teaches soldiers that there is no time to contemplate the morality of an order they are carrying out.

 

The film then depicts a collage of scenes to show witness preparation and research, including trying to find out what could cause lactic acidosis other than poison. Kaffee says they are going to go after Kendrick as the one who told the defendants to carry out the Code Red. Kaffee puts on a confident face but after Weinberg and Galloway leave the night before the trial he admits misgivings about the case, and probably about himself, when he says, “We’re gonna to get creamed.” 

 The judge at the court martial trial is Colonel Julius Alexander Randolph (J. A. Preston). In his opening statement, Ross says that Dawson and Downey entered Santiago’s room, bound him, shoved a rag down his throat which caused the man’s lungs to bleed and he drowned in his own blood. He adds, “These are the facts of the case, and they are undisputed.” He is right to that extent, but Ross says that the rag had poison on it, and there was a motive to kill Santiago. Kaffee immediately says that there was no poison and no intent to murder the victim. And “any attempt to prove otherwise is futile ‘cause it just ain’t true.” Kaffee’s delivery is strong by being so definite. He appeals to the military jury members mindset by saying Dawson and Downey were ordered to assault Santiago, and when you are a soldier in a possible combat zone, orders must be followed. Kaffee repeats what Dawson told him, which was that they were doing their “job.” This use of Dawson’s words shows how Kaffee has come to understand what makes his defendants tick. 

 

A witness investigating Dawson says that although a round was discharged from Dawson’s rifle, he was not charged with an illegal firing of his weapon because Santiago was the only witness, and being deceased, he could not be questioned to back up his claim. The testimony suggests that the death of Santiago prevented him from corroborating Santiago’s accusation, thus letting Dawson off the hook, and establishing a possible motive for killing Santiago. Cpl. Carl Hammaker (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) states that Kendrick told them Santiago was an informer who went outside the chain of command to implicate a fellow soldier, which angered Hammaker. He goes on to say that Kendrick gave an order that Santiago should not be harmed. Ross is ready to call all the other witnesses to confirm what Hammaker said. But Kaffee halts this piling on for effect by saying he will concede that all of the witnesses heard the same command as long as Ross agrees that none of the witnesses was in Dawson and Downey’s room following the meeting. Kaffee wants to make sure there is nobody who can contradict Dawson’s statement about when the Code Red was assigned.

 Although they suspect coercion on the part of Jessup concerning the doctor’s findings, they have no evidence to back up that allegation. Dr. Stone (Christopher Guest) explains lactic acidosis is the result of the body burning sugar instead of oxygen, causing the lungs to bleed. Stone is adamant that despite there being no evidence of a poison, there are many toxic substances that are undetectable. Kaffee then argues that there can be a coronary condition that can cause lactic acidosis. Symptoms of the heart condition would be chest pain, fatigue, and shortness of breath. Kaffee produces a medical evaluation signed by Stone that has those exact symptoms which justified placing Santiago on temporary restricted duty. Nevertheless, Stone is adamant that Santiago was poisoned. Galloway makes the mistake of continuing to object to Stone’s professional opinion, and angers the judge. Weinberg lets Galloway know that her confrontational manner weakened their case, but underneath that anger Galloway knows that Weinberg is frustrated by being involved in something he doesn’t believe in. She asks why he hates Dawson and Downey, and he says that they “beat up on a weakling,” and all the rest of the case is “crap.” He says they “tortured and killed” Santiago because “they didn’t like him” for the simple reason “he couldn’t run very fast.” Kaffee calms them down, but before leaving, Weinberg wants to know why Galloway is on the side of Dawson and Downey. She says because they are on that defensive line and they pledge to make sure nothing will harm their fellow citizens on their “watch.” We again have the two sides presented concerning what it takes to maintain military protection versus the need to have safeguards based on individual conscience against tyranny.

 

Galloway awkwardly asks Kaffee if she could take him out to dinner, on a kind of date, where she talks about her legal background. He asks why she is always giving him her “resume.” She wants him to think she is a good lawyer, but shows her insecurity again by saying he doesn’t. She says that watching him in action convinced her that he is an exceptional attorney, and believes that he will win the case. He gives her enthusiasm a reality check, saying that they have no evidence of the Code Red, only the testimony of the defendants. She is optimistic that they will find Markinson, despite that seeming impossible.

 Cpl. Barnes testifies to the fact that Code Reds do exist at Guantanamo because he received one, which was to punish him for dropping his rifle in the heat. He says the disciplinary action worked because he never let go of his weapon again. Barnes says he was punched and glue poured on him, which seems cruel, but it also shows the effectiveness of the disciplinary act. Kaffee gets Barnes to say that despite Santiago’s numerous inadequacies as a soldier he didn’t receive a Code Red because Dawson protected Santiago. Kaffee is suggesting that it is inconsistent that Dawson would want to hurt a man he had a history of shielding from harm. Ross presents manuals to show that there’s nothing in them about Code Reds, but Kaffee negates that argument by saying not everything is written down, such as where the mess hall is. Kaffee’s grabbing one of the books out of Ross’s hand as they exchange places shows how Kaffee can improvise, which makes him different from his father who planned everything, following military rigidity. Guidelines are one thing, but between the lines of written rules is the leeway to exercise freedom, but also to justify exerting authoritarian will.

 

The mysterious Markinson seems to appear out of thin air in the back of Kaffee’s car. He says that Kendrick ordered the Code Red, and that Santiago was never going to get off the base, because Markinson signed the transfer orders after Santiago died as part of the cover-up. He also says Jessup lied about the flight for Santiago being the only one since there was a plane leaving several hours earlier. Kaffee says he will get Markinson immunity to testify. But, Markinson doesn’t want it, feeling he deserves no reward as he says he is not “proud” of what he did or is doing. Which means he feels guilty for allowing Dawson and Downey to take the blame for Santiago’s death, and also for becoming an informer, which is what Santiago was, and which led to his death. Markinson feels like a lost man, a person without a military or a civilian code.

 

As Weinberg looks for the flight log, Kaffee meets with Ross to tell him he has Markinson. Ross, who is a Marine, says he is not like Jessup or Kendrick (those “fanatical” ones Galloway mentioned). He says he doesn’t believe Dawson and Downey belong in jail, but his personal thoughts can’t interfere with his job, which he feels he must carry out, as did Dawson and Downey. So, he is like the other Marines who put the mission above personal views which may conflict with orders. Ross also warns Kaffee that he can be court-martialed for accusing an officer of a felony without evidence, since the legal system in the military is rank protective.

 

On the witness stand, Kendrick continues to be hostile toward Kaffee, who tries to show inconsistencies in Kendrick’s behavior and evaluations of soldiers, specifically concerning Dawson. Kendrick again stresses what he relies on for his actions, which are The Marine Corps Code of Conduct and The King James Bible. The only authority he pays attention to are, “Nathan R. Jessup, and the Lord our God.” He is repeating the putting of the leadership of the Corps before God, showing his priorities and his rigidity, since he relies solely on rules that are inflexible. Kendrick gave orders for another soldier, Pvt. Bell, to be restricted to barracks and have his nourishment reduced for committing an offense. However, Kendrick does not concede that his order was a Code Red. He says he knows they exist but that he has never ordered one. Dawson’s humanity again is revealed, since he secretly supplied food to Pvt. Bell. Kaffee suggests that Dawson, whose record was perfect, then received a low rating because he defied the meal restriction. Kendrick considers disobeying an order to be “a crime.” Kaffee suggests that shouldn’t Dawson be allowed, in a non-combat situation, to decide which orders to follow and which to ignore based on his own sense of right and wrong. Of course, Kaffee knows that in the military that is not the way things operate in crisis situations. When Kendrick says Dawson can’t disobey any order, Kaffee says that Dawson, following his low rating, was then motivated to carry out any subsequent order from Kendrick, including a Code Red, because defiance meant punishment. 

 

The flight log backs up Jessup’s version of what happened, and Markinson tells Kaffee that Jessup had the logbooks altered for take-offs and landings. Markinson just wanted to be an information source, and the thought of testifying in court and breaking his allegiance to the Marine code of conduct is too much for him to bear. He puts on his dress uniform and commits suicide with his firearm. At the trial, Downey testifies that he received the order to perform a Code Red from Kendrick. But Ross gets him to admit that he was hiking at the time Dawson said that Kendrick gave the Code Red. Downey only heard it from Dawson. He seems to be committing perjury, but Downey doesn’t understand the legal restriction against hearsay evidence. So devout is his belief in the Corps that he believes that whatever Dawson told him was the absolute truth, just as if he heard the words from Kendrick in person.

 

Kaffee, after learning about Markinson’s suicide, shows up drunk at his place where Galloway and Weinberg wait for him (there is a rainstorm, the inclemency of the weather reflecting the possible severe punishment the Marines may receive). After telling them that they now have no more witnesses, Kaffee says the case is over, and that Dawson and Downey needed a trial lawyer. His insecurity comes through here as he is probably feeling the weight of his father’s reputation bearing down on him. Galloway relentlessly pushes to continue fighting by putting Jessup on the stand and getting him to admit he ordered Kendrick to issue the Code Red. Kaffee is savagely sarcastic toward her, saying her advice is “galactically stupid!” Galloway says with sad sarcasm that she is sorry she lost him his set of steak knives, and leaves. Weinberg tells Kaffee that although his father was a great trial lawyer Weinberg would choose his son to represent the defendants based on how he was in the courtroom. Given the circumstances, Weinberg says, even though Lionel Kaffee and Weinberg would not put Jessup on the stand, the real question is what would Kaffee do? Weinberg is trying to get Kaffee to realize he has to get out from under the legal shadow of his father. Kaffee shows he is his own man and chases after Galloway, saying he will go after Jessup.

 

The next day the three go over how to deal with Jessup. Kaffee says he thinks Jessup would love to admit he ordered the Code Red because he is so arrogant he doesn’t like hiding how he runs things, especially not in front of the Harvard grad with the “faggoty” uniform. He isn’t sure how to get Jessup to the point of revealing what he did. He says he thinks better with his baseball bat and when he retrieves it from his closet, he looks at his clothes, which reminds him of the uniforms hanging in Santiago’s room, and he gets an idea. He goes to his office and gets a list of personnel who worked at Andrews Air Force Base, and tells Weinberg to go to the base. Kaffee and Galloway are ready to go into the courtroom, but Weinberg isn’t there yet with the “guys.” Galloway, in a bit of reversal of her gung ho attitude, tells Kaffee that if it doesn’t look like he’s going to get Jessup, he should back off, because he could get into serious trouble.

 Jessup walks to the stand with an intimidating look at Kaffee. Weinberg then enters with two air base groundsmen. Jessup notices their entrance, possibly feeling a twinge of concern. Kaffee wants to make sure that the jury now knows that Markinson killed himself, possibly planting a seed of curiosity in their minds as to why the second-in-command to Jessup would be so conflicted. Jessup testifies that he gave Kendrick the order to tell his men not to harm Santiago and at the same time had Markinson arrange Santiago’s departure to keep the man out of danger. Kaffee then establishes that Jessup was only coming for a day and brought a change of clothes, personal items, and contacted some people. Yet Santiago, after writing dozens of letters begging to get out of Cuba, supposedly was “leaving for the rest of his life,” but hadn’t packed one item and didn’t call anyone. The thrust here is that there was no plan to transfer Santiago since he didn’t take action that would indicate he knew he was leaving. When Kaffee pointedly suggests that there wasn’t any transfer order, Jessup is cool, saying maybe Santiago was an early riser and packed then, and maybe he didn’t have any friends to contact. He is sarcastic toward Kaffee, wondering if all he was asked to do was talk about phone calls and clothes. It is at this point that Kaffee looks around the room, since he has reached that line Galloway was talking about where he may not get Jessup’s admission of the Code Red, and he must be courageous if he continues. 

 

Jessup thinks he has won and starts to walk away, but Kaffee shows no respect toward Jessup, telling him he isn’t done with him and that he should “sit down.” His attitude is meant to antagonize Jessup. Jessup questions the judge about how he is running his court. Kaffee’s plan is working because he revealed Jessup’s condescending attitude. The judge then says Jessup should address him as “Your Honor,” because he has earned the right to be shown respect, too. 

 

Kaffee asks if there was an earlier flight that was supposed to leave at eleven the previous evening and arrive at Andrews at two in the morning. Jessup says no, but Kaffee says that he will be calling the two ground crew men to testify shortly. He then asks if possibly Kendrick never gave Jessup’s order that Santiago shouldn’t be touched. Kaffee makes himself look like an ignorant man who has no idea of the sanctity of the chain of command. His stance stokes Jessup who asks rhetorically if Kaffee ever was in a position to put his life in the hands of others on the front line of battle, or have fellow soldiers rely on him. Jessup instructs Kaffee that if orders aren’t followed, “people die.” Then Kaffee springs his trap: if Jessup’s orders are always followed, and his order was that Santiago should not be touched, then why was there a need to transfer him off base to protect him? Jessup backpedals and says that sometimes men take matters into their own hands. But Kaffee persistently interrupts, saying Jessup just said his men never act on their own without receiving orders. Jessup starts to break and calls Kaffee a “snotty little bastard.” Ross tries for a recess, but the judge wants to hear Jessup’s explanation. When Kaffee demands to hear the truth, we get the famous line from Jessup, “You can’t handle the truth!” He then angrily says that Santiago’s death actually saved lives most likely because in Jessup’s mind there can’t be exceptions as to how his men must learn to meet his standards. He says he provides the safety blanket that others live under by doing the “grotesque” business that Kaffee and others don’t want to do nor appreciate, and then they have the audacity to question how Jessup provides that protection. He says they “want” him and “need” him on that line of defense. Kaffee roars that there was no transfer order, Jessup doctored the flight logs, and ordered the Code Red. When he continually challenges Jessup, the man finally admits to Kaffee about ordering the Code Red, “You Goddamn right I did!” 

 It is now Jessup’s turn to not understand why he is being charged with anything. As the MP’s guard him and Ross reads him his rights, Jessup tries to physically attack Kaffee. After being restrained, he says that Kaffee just put the lives of people in danger, and uses the word “son” in a dismissive way to refer to Kaffee. For Kaffee, being called “son” by this man is an insult compared to the esteemed father who addressed him that way. Kaffee tells him that he is an officer and a lawyer, and says, “You’re under arrest, you son-of-a-bitch.”  Jessup’s hat has fallen to the floor, implying he has been deprived of his power.

 

Kaffee tells Ross that the two airmen knew nothing about an earlier flight, and were only a bluff. Ross says he has to arrest the self-declared religious Kendrick for his part in the Code Red and perjury. The jury finds Dawson and Downey guilty of “behavior unbecoming a Marine,” and they receive dishonorable discharges (which is really a charge for officers, and they should be discharged “for the good of the service,” given their ranks, as noted on IMDb). Downey doesn’t understand why they were blamed for anything since it was shown that they were following orders. But Dawson says they are guilty of not fighting “for people who couldn’t fight for themselves,” and they should have protected Santiago, as Dawson had done earlier. Dawson now gives Kaffee respect by saluting him as he leaves. The movie is stating that orders should not be followed without question under circumstances when human decency indicates that the ends do not justify the means.

The next film is Shattered Glass.