A Few Good Men (1992)

Directed by Rob Reiner   Legal/Thriller   R 2h 18m

Last week, I remedied a lifelong mistake of having never seen A Few Good Men. I have been a Sorkin fan since seeing his riveting stage adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird in 2018. What followed was a foray into “The Newsroom” and the deeply lauded “The West Wing.” Other films of his, including Steve Jobs and Moneyballare entries I deeply admire. , I have no excuse for having never sat and watched the film that shot Sorkin into the stratosphere of revered screenwriters. Perhaps it was because I already knew the climactic scene, or because I thought it was a part Tom Cruise couldn’t play. Or perhaps because I thought it was just another entry into the “dramatic courtroom movies Hall of Fame” and that I’d know every beat without having to sit and watch the story unfold. Boy, was I wrong.

To be clear – A Few Good Men does have a deeply familiar cadence, but to me, that is what makes it so gripping. Like all good courtroom movies, the concept of Truth hovers over nearly every scene, until its presence is forcefully exposed by the iconic Jack Nicholson scene. But what is this Truth, that Tom Cruise’s JAG lawyer Lieutenant. Daniel Kaffee and Demi Moore’s idealistic Lieutenant Commander Joanne Galloway are chasing? I think it’s twofold. On the surface, the lowercase “truth” is that of exposing the events behind the murder of a young marine Private Willie Santiago. The facts are this: Santiago was brutalized and killed by two marines enacting a “code red” – an unofficial, off-the-record punishment performed by other enlisted men. In this case, the culprits are Lance Corporal Harold Dawson (played by Wolfgang Bodison) and Private First-Class Louden Downey (James Marshall). Enter the glass-half-full Galloway, who initially acts under the correct purview that everyone should be given the right to a fair trial – including adequate representation. And here lies the genius of the surface storyline. We watch in real-time, as Moore portrays a journey from the sense of gradual understanding, to genuine empathy.  Galloway begins her arc as any good defender of the United States Constitution. Within the course of the film’s first act, she comes to believe Dawson and Downey’s story and see first-hand their remorse for killing an innocent man. By the time the second act takes flight, Galloway is the champion of all underdog defendants who have ever been the patsies for crimes that are truly committed at levels higher than anyone dare comprehend. Standing in her way is a slue of archetypal antagonists, brought brilliantly to life by such character actors as Kevin Bacon, J.T. Walsh, Kiefer Sutherland, and Cuba Gooding Jr.

Enter Daniel Kaffee. Like many Tom Cruise characters, Kaffee is dashing, cocky, and athletic (we get some very comical scenes of Cruise playing softball). Kaffee’s arc is not unlike Galloway’s. His initial belief is that because Dawson and Downey were the men who committed the action in question, they are guilty. Nevertheless, they are entitled to a fair trial. In one of the film’s best scenes (one of many incredible sequences), the trio – completed by a young Kevin Pollack as Lt. Sam Weinberg) visit Guantanamo Bay to survey the scene of the crime and question the officers who oversaw Santiago’s unit. This is the moment when the chess pieces are established, and the game of strategy begins. This is the moment where Jack Nicholson’s spiteful and rigid Colonel Nathan Jessep establishes himself as a worthy opponent – not of the defending council – but of every optimist’s perception of patriotism.

A Few Good Men is a patriotic film through and through. It’s the movie one might watch on a Fourth of July weekend, as that is when all the cable channels seem to run it. But the Sorkin-coded patriotism is almost used as a Mandela Effect. When the characters begin to realize that Santiago’s murder could be at the hands of higher-ranking military officials, Sorkin masterfully exposes the feeling that – deep down – many Americans subtly fear. There are some within this country who use patriotism to guide them along the path to power. That is the darkness that engulfs Jessep.

The revelation of A Few Good Men is that there are some Americans who lie to themselves about their relationship with the people of the United States. Men like Jessep paint themselves as red-blooded heroes. They “stand on a wall”, staring down the constant threat of danger, protecting, and fighting for those who can’t protect or fight for themselves. Jessep represents the men who stand on that wall for glory and little else. Dawson, Downey, and the deceased Santiago represent the greater percentage of men and women in the American military. They represent the truly honorable and brave individuals, those who wear and honor the uniform, living and dying by their vow as defenders of the free world. 

Thus, in the final moments, A Few Good Men reveals itself as a political tragedy. Good, honorable men like Dawson and Downey, are susceptible to the corrupting powers of individuals like Jessep. Their honor is compromised because they are blinded by loyalty to their superior officers. But not all men understand the error of their ways. In the film’s emotional ending, Kaffee and Dawson exchange a mutual respect – two deeply flawed individuals, who share an understanding of what truth and honor can be. The phrase “a few good men”, is both comforting and jarring at the same time. The notion that the United States military may contain ruthless figures not dissimilar from Jessep is likely to strike a sense of dread into the hearts of the viewers. On the other hand, the very idea that in a world full of corruption, greed, and vengeance, “a few good men” not only exist – but prevail conveys a sense of hope deeper than any grand patriotic display. The men who executed such brutality are brought to justice. So, for a fleeting moment, the conclusion of A Few Good Men is powerful enough to restore our faith in the willpower of the human spirit.

★★★★