"A few good men" is a court room drama. Unlike most other court room drama's it is character driven and not plot driven.
The story is about abuse of power by a high ranking officer (Col Nathan Jessep played by Jack Nicholson). He does this not by himself but commands some subordinates to do his dirty work. These subordinates must appear before a court-martial when someone dies.
The film contains three different psychological relationships.
Between the suspect subordinates and the lawyers from the army.
Between the two lawyers (Lt Daniel Kaffee played by Tom Cruise and Lt Cdr Joanne Galloway played by Demi Moore).
Between Kaffee and Jessep during an interrogation in court.
I will make some remarks about each relationship.
At first Kaffee tries to make a deal with the suspects, a reduced sentence in exchange for a confession. Both suspects are shocked. They have done nothing wrong, they have only followed an order. Only gradually it dawns on them that there is a difference between following a legitimate and illegitimate command.
As I have already said, at first Kaffee tries to make a deal. He is not very fond of studying an extensive file and he sees a deal as a guick solution. Joanne Galloway is not very charmed of his approach. She knows more about the hierarchy in the army and suspects what has actually happened. Besides in her opinion a lawsuit entails more than just making a deal. It is also about principles and truth. Piece by piece she convinces Kaffee of her approach. It remains rather vague whether this is due to the fact that she is Kaffee's superior, the strength of her arguments or her female charms. It is a wise choice by director Reiner to avoid giving away clues by inserting a romantic ending, but the impression remains that feminine charms at least play a role. The chemistry between Cruise and Moore is one of the gems of this film.
Last but not least the relationship between Jessep and kaffee during the interrogation. This game of cat and mouse is power-acting of both Cruise and Nicholson. The only surprise is who is the cat and who is the mouse. Jessep is untouchable at his home base. Just like the subordinates a command is for him a command, the only difference being that he is giving them. It is precisely this total lack of opposition that makes him vulnerable in court.
The story is about abuse of power by a high ranking officer (Col Nathan Jessep played by Jack Nicholson). He does this not by himself but commands some subordinates to do his dirty work. These subordinates must appear before a court-martial when someone dies.
The film contains three different psychological relationships.
Between the suspect subordinates and the lawyers from the army.
Between the two lawyers (Lt Daniel Kaffee played by Tom Cruise and Lt Cdr Joanne Galloway played by Demi Moore).
Between Kaffee and Jessep during an interrogation in court.
I will make some remarks about each relationship.
At first Kaffee tries to make a deal with the suspects, a reduced sentence in exchange for a confession. Both suspects are shocked. They have done nothing wrong, they have only followed an order. Only gradually it dawns on them that there is a difference between following a legitimate and illegitimate command.
As I have already said, at first Kaffee tries to make a deal. He is not very fond of studying an extensive file and he sees a deal as a guick solution. Joanne Galloway is not very charmed of his approach. She knows more about the hierarchy in the army and suspects what has actually happened. Besides in her opinion a lawsuit entails more than just making a deal. It is also about principles and truth. Piece by piece she convinces Kaffee of her approach. It remains rather vague whether this is due to the fact that she is Kaffee's superior, the strength of her arguments or her female charms. It is a wise choice by director Reiner to avoid giving away clues by inserting a romantic ending, but the impression remains that feminine charms at least play a role. The chemistry between Cruise and Moore is one of the gems of this film.
Last but not least the relationship between Jessep and kaffee during the interrogation. This game of cat and mouse is power-acting of both Cruise and Nicholson. The only surprise is who is the cat and who is the mouse. Jessep is untouchable at his home base. Just like the subordinates a command is for him a command, the only difference being that he is giving them. It is precisely this total lack of opposition that makes him vulnerable in court.
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