Stand By Me

 SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed!

Stand by Me (1986), which shares its title with the great Ben E. King song, was directed by Rob Reiner and is based on a story by Stephen King (two kings make a great pair here). The tale takes place in the summer of 1959 in the form of a reminiscence by the narrator who is The Writer (Richard Dreyfuss). He thinks about the first time he saw a dead body after reading about a death in the newspaper. Even though it’s been many years since he was twelve years old, the memory has haunted him his whole life.

The main characters are young boys who are in a transition period between being children and becoming adults. The Writer is the grownup Gordie Lachance (Will Wheaton). They play cards in a tree house as kids will do, but Chris Chambers (River Phoenix) and Teddy DuChamp (Corey Feldman) smoke cigarettes, showing they are rebelling against childhood norms. The screenplay is effective as they engage in trashy put-down comments which fit their age group. The Writer notes that “finding new and preferably disgusting ways to degrade a friend’s mother was always held in high regard.” The Writer comments that Teddy acted crazy for a reason because his violent father almost burned off the boy’s ear once. Chris, their leader, came from a “bad” family also, and according to The Writer, was expected to have a “bad” life (unfortunately true for the actor River Phoenix, whose early death was a shocker). The film suggests that external factors can abnormally thrust children out of their carefree innocence.

One of the boys’ crew, Vern Tessio (Jerry O’Connell) enters the treehouse with news. While searching for where he buried his coins under the house porch, Vern overheard from his brother, Billy (Casey Siemaszko) and his pal, Charlie Hogan (Gary Riley) the location of a young dead boy, Ray Brower, who went missing. The older teens stole a car and that was why they were near the train tracks where they found the dead boy. Since Billy and Charlie are staying clear of the police, the younger boys think they can get credit for finding the body. Youths enjoy pretending to be heroes and these boys sing the title songs of old TV shows that told cowboy stories, which shows that desire.

As the kids concoct alibis to free them up for their quest, The Writer notes that his mother (Frances Lee McCain) and father (Marshall Bell) were traumatized by the death of Gordie’s older brother, Denny (played in flashback by John Cusack) in a car accident, another initiation into the harshness of the world. Gordie’s dad is disappointed in Gordie for not having friends as admirable as Denny’s pals. So, these boys have something to prove to themselves, let alone others, that they are not losers.

Chris catches up with Gordie on their way to meet the other boys. He took his dad’s handgun, and Chris accidentally fires off a round into a trash can behind a restaurant. The firearm holds adult fascination for the boys, but its explosive deadliness also is frightening, which again stresses their cusp of adulthood predicament. The boys encounter Chris’s older brother Eyeball (Bradley Gregg), and Ace Merrill (Kiefer Sutherland), who overpowers the younger boys and steals the New York Yankees cap Denny gave to Gordie. That act is particularly hurtful to Gordie who loved his brother, and Ace’s theft is a desecration of Gordie’s memory of Denny. The preteens wish they were older and bigger so they could defend themselves (a foreshadowing), which stresses their in-between stage of growth. (There is a short later scene where Ace and the other teenagers drive a car and knock mailboxes off their posts with a baseball bat. Subsequent scenes with these older boys show that the next stage of maleness is full of rebelliousness, egotism, obsessions over sex, foolishness, and danger).

The boys follow the train tracks with their gear and are supposed to travel around twenty or thirty miles, quite a stretch for these youths. They act like adventurous men, but are not responsible enough to remember to bring any food. Vern says he remembered to bring a comb, which is funny, but also stresses immaturity. A locomotive approaches, but Teddy wants to play “dodge train,” waiting for the last moment to get off the tracks. He pretends he is meeting the enemy at Normandy on D-Day. The scene is reminiscent of playing “chicken” in Rebel Without a Cause, where the adolescents head to a cliff in cars and are supposed to jump out at the last minute. Here is the same combination of adult male bravado and youthful recklessness. Teddy’s father, who was a hero in the war at Normandy, went insane, possibly due to war trauma, and is now in a mental institution. There may be a subconscious desire to prove his bravery so he can measure up to his father’s war heroics. Chris saves Teddy from himself by pulling him off the tracks.

The young boys flex their rule-breaking potential by scaling a junkyard fence despite the warning not to trespass. They use the water pump there to hydrate and then goof around. The child in each of them still watches The Micky Mouse Club, but their budding manhood focuses on Annette Funicello’s breasts. Gordie loses the coin toss, and he has to go to the store nearby for food. The grocer recognizes Gordie as Denny’s brother. He also lost a brother, only in Korea. He quotes the Bible that says death is there amid life. Tragedy seems to be something that we never outgrow.

The grocer talks about what a great football player Denny was. That remark triggers a dinner table memory where Gordie’s father is obsessed with Denny and his ball playing. Denny goes out of the way to talk about how good a writer Gordie is, but the father ignores the praise for his other son. Older males, like Mr. Lachance and the grocer, don’t see writing as masculine, so they focus on the athletic, muscular nature of sports.

By the time Gordie returns to the junkyard, the owner, Milo Pressman (William Bronder) has returned, and the rest of the boys are on the other side of the fence. Gordie runs with all his might and climbs over the barrier just in time to escape the junkyard dog, Chopper. The animal was supposed to be this fearsome creature, but he turns out to be not that threatening. The Writer says it was his first revelation about how myth did not measure up to reality, another growth moment.

After getting upset when Pressman recognizes him and ridicules his father, Teddy says he is spoiling his friends’ fun. But the maturing Gordie says maybe they shouldn’t be treating their journey as a “party” since they are going to “see a dead kid.” So, this journey is a symbolic one, a rite of passage which leads away from childhood.

Chris gives Gordie a speech, similar to the one Ben Affleck gives Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting, about how Gordie has to use his brains and take academic courses while his pals are in shop classes. Chris realizes Gordie’s writing potential, unlike Gordie’s dad. Chris says, “God gave you something, man, all those stories you can make up.” He says that it’s like God is telling Gordie not to lose those tales as he grows up. (And he doesn’t since it is the grown Gordie who is telling this story). Chris is more of a father figure here and is actually more mature than Gordie’s real dad. At the same time, Teddy and Vern talk about who is stronger, Superman or Mighty Mouse. These contrasting conversations further stress how these boys are in a maturity transition.

The boys come to another challenge as they approach a trestle. To not go far off their route they must cross it without any room to avoid a train that might be coming. Vern loses his comb, which is sort of a child’s safety blanket. They start to walk over the tracks when Gordie spots the smoke coming from the stack of an approaching train. Chris and Teddy make it to the other side. The overweight Vern is not as quick as the others and Gordie tries to urge him to move faster. They jump off onto the dirt embankment, just in time to avoid the train. They have leapt over another hurdle on their perilous road to adulthood.

At a campfire, the boys want Gordie to tell a story. His tale is about a heavy boy who has sustained ridicule for his size. The town calls him Lardass (Andy Lindberg). He gets his revenge at a pie eating contest before which he consumed a bottle of castor oil and a raw egg. After eating several pies he initiates a cascading vomiting scene to exact his revenge on the nasty citizens. The story fits the mindset of these boys, and vicariously allows them to feel justice since they, too, feel like outsiders. But, Teddy’s demons rise again and he wants a better ending where Lardass goes home and kills his father, and then joins the Texas Rangers. His reaction shows his pathology which has sprung from his divergent feelings about his father.

After falling asleep, howling coyotes awaken the boys. They take turns standing guard, and despite Teddy’s acting like a military sentry, and Vern’s exaggerated startle response to every sound, the scene is disturbing since they are pointing Chris’s handgun. The next scene depicts the outcast feelings of Gordie and Chris. Gordie has a nightmare where he pictures himself at the grave of his brother and his father tells Gordie it should have been him in the casket. He wakes up and joins Chris, and suggests to his friend he can also take college classes. Chris says that the community considers his family dangerous lowlifes, and presume they are guilty instead of innocent if a transgression takes place. He stole the school milk money, implying that being law-abiding would not better his family reputation because of the residents’ prejudices. But he gave the money back to the teacher who showed up with a brand-new skirt she had been eyeing. Chris begins to cry since he found out how crushing it was to find that even a schoolteacher can be so devious. It is an example of losing innocence and moving toward cynicism concerning life’s realities. Chris says he wishes he “could go someplace where nobody knows me,” which would allow him to live without others unfairly judging him.

There is a scene where Gordie is alone sitting on the train track rails. A doe comes out of the forest, pauses, and the boy and the animal exchange looks. Stephen King said that the story is about discovering the world, and this moment is magical for Gordie, since he says he never shared it with anyone before. It appears that Gordie is feeling a oneness with nature. Since it is a young deer, perhaps it is on the same journey of learning about life. Both are shedding their past lives.

The older boys led by Ace find out about the dead boy from Billie and Charlie. Ace decides that they will get the praise for finding the missing boy. On their drive, Ace races against a group of boys in another car. When a truck hauling lumber heads straight at him, Ace refuses to exit the lane. The trucker goes off the road to avoid a collision, losing his cargo. Ace says, “I won,” as if beating death is a contest. Ace’s toxic masculinity will most likely grow stronger as he gets older, and the scene shows the destructive road men may travel down because of the macho attitudes that society fosters.

Meanwhile, the kids, abandoning the safety of the train tracks that can represent civilization, cut through a forest as a shortcut. In literature, writers have used forests as the places where unlawful or dangerous activities take place (think The Scarlet Letter, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, The Princess Bride). They misjudge the depth of a river they cross and find themselves in water up to their shoulders. Teddy starts to be mischievous and dunks Vern. Chris tells him to “act your age.” Teddy rightfully says he is acting his age. The boys, except for the anti-party Gordie, start dunking each other. They are in a perilous situation which calls for adult thinking, but they are still playful children in that place. When they discover that leeches have attached themselves to their bodies, the serious nature of their quest sobers them up as they pull the creatures off their bodies.

They finally find the body of the Brower boy off the side of the train tracks they reconnect with after their shortcut. The boy was hit by a train. The Writer says the boy was not asleep, not sick, which is what the boys experienced in their previous youthful life. He is dead, which ushers them into the next stage of their maturity. Encountering this brutal end of a life prompts Gordie to question why bad things happen to some people. After all, they dodged trains twice on this trip, but Brower couldn’t escape the danger. The low self-esteem that Gordie’s father instilled in the boy causes Gordie to tearfully tell Chris (they have now exchanged sorrowful confessions) that he deserved to die instead. Chris consoles his friend in a compassionate parental way (unlike Gordie’s real dad) by telling him he’s wrong, and accurately states that Gordie has a life ahead of him being a writer.

At that moment, Ace and his gang show up and threaten to beat up the youngsters if they don’t give up the body. Chris will not back down. Ace starts to cross that legal line that the remote forest removes, and pulls a knife. As he is ready to cut Chris, Gordie shoots off a warning shot from the gun, playing its part as the equalizer, which Chris brought. Gordie aims his wild card weapon with a steady hand at Ace, who decides to fold. But, Ace issues a warning about the boys’ futures (a foreshadowing).

After besting the older boys, the younger ones probably feel the quest was what was important and they no longer have the need to get credit for finding the body. They leave it there and decide to make an anonymous phone call to have it found. They head back to their town, which, according to The Writer, “seemed smaller.” They have grown up some on their journey and things aren’t as large or magical when one revisits a childhood place.

The Writer says that Gordie and Chris didn’t see as much of Vern and Teddy as they grew up. Many of us lose track of friends who we bonded with when younger as life’s situations place us on divergent roads. Vern settled into the grownup world, getting married, having four kids, and working as a forklift operator. Teddy couldn’t get into the military because of his vision defects and ear injury, courtesy of his father. He was also in jail a few times. Some sins of the father can’t be erased from the marks they leave on the children. Chris did escape the judgment of the town, going to college and becoming a lawyer. But he went into a fast-food restaurant, tried to break up a fight, was stabbed in the throat, and died. He couldn’t escape that knife that threatened him in his youth. It was his death that Gordie was reading about that initiated the memory of finding the body. The Writer, the adult Gordie, has a boy of his own now, as the cycle continues, is finishing typing the memoir we have been hearing. He had not been in touch with Chris for over ten years, but he knows will miss his best friend “forever.”

The last lines he types say that he never made friends like the ones he had when he was twelve, and asks, “Jesus, does anyone?” Don’t we all hold onto those days when we shared our early years with precious others while we were in that state of becoming?

The next film is Donnie Darko.

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.