Analysis of the Film A Few Good Men by Aaron Sorkin - Essay Example

Analysis of the Film “A Few Good Men” by Aaron Sorkin Public has often been made aware that military matters consist merely of concerns that are aimed for the good of the nation since officials who confront the fields of combat, local or international, occur to be heroic figures employed chiefly for accomplishment of a noble high end which is to pledge service for the welfare of national security. Majority might have probably put to norm the common thought that military men, in neat uniforms and badges, could never afford to take ideals for granted. Looking through the eyes of truth at depth, however, these bunch of great tough men who have earned the trust of many apparently have much at stake within their threatening circles so that there would emerge ‘a few’ who ought themselves apart for the sake of shedding the light of justice. This situation is thematically depicted in the 1992 film “A Few Good Men” under the screenwriting of Aaron Sorkin and direction by Rob Reiner. Basically, “A Few Good Men” presents how the intertwined lives of military lawyers Lt. Daniel “Danny” Kaffee (Tom Cruise) and Lt. Commander JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore) would be faced with dilemmatic crisis between the duty to abide by orders and the humanitarian responsibility of acting in righteousness to reveal the truth and save the innocent colleagues. In the story, two men of the U.S. Marines distinguished as Pfc. Louden Downey and Lance Cpl. Harold Dawson are alleged to have committed murder on fellow Pfc. William Santiago at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. As Kaffee takes charge to defend the side of Downey and Dawson, during the course of investigation, he and Galloway are bound to learn of the ‘code red’ issued by a high-ranking officer who powerfully commands the naval base at Guantanamo. According to Capt. Whitaker, “A Marine corporal named Dawson illegally fires a round of his weapon over the fence line and into Cuban territory” (Memorable) and Santiago is perceived the risk of becoming a whistleblower to the incident so rather than granting the requested transfer off the base, he is to be kept on Guantanamo ground for training under the supervision of Lt. Jonathan Kendrick (Kiefer Sutherland). Kaffee figures, nevertheless, that Col. Nathan R. Jessup (Jack Nicholson) orders Kendrick the ‘code red’ via Downey and Dawson where Capt. Whitaker particularly confesses in evidence “Pfc. William Santiago threatens to rat on Dawson to the Naval Investigative Service -- Dawson, and another member of his squad Pfc. Louden Downey, go into Santiago's barracks room, tie him up, stuff a rag down his throat -- An hour later Santiago's dead -- The attending physician says the rag was treated with some kind of toxin” (Memorable). To analyze, Kaffee’s role as a seemingly unscrupulous junior Navy lawyer known to have not at the time gained pertinent trial-on-court experience is utilized to the advantage of Jessup though it is not meant to be divulged as such due to the fact that it only serves being a cover-up. Kaffee, in which case, is expected to understand this purpose and not ever question his disposition on transacting plea bargains which have been his normal line of task even with the assignment of defending the position of his clients who must be made to admit the sole fault of causing Santiago’s death. At the expense of Downey and Dawson, hence, the court proceedings with foul play should be carried out in favor of Jessup who is apparently the principal villain of the story. Then the turning point comes to Kaffee and Galloway as a challenge of whether to get by the typical rule of following instructions or protect the reputation of the two U.S. Marines from unjust ruin. This time, the inexperienced lawyer is caught between two opposing decisions in which choosing the right one would necessarily improve his unfulfilled character. In a conversation with his friend Capt. Ross, Kaffee expresses “You think I can’t subpoena Markinson?” where the captain replies “You can try but you won't find him -- You know what Markinson did for the first 17 of his 26 years in the Corps? Counter intelligence – Markinson’s gone, there is no Markinson -- Look, Danny, Jessup’s star is on the rise -- Division will give me a lot of room on this one to spare Jessup and the Corps any embarrassment” (Memorable). At this stage, the film’s viewers should have adequately gauged how appalling it could be to discover scenes in military setting where an officer may turn down or kill another just to save face. Enemies, eventually, are among themselves and the lurking corruption of the system appears too powerful that crimes executed through codes become inevitable. Kaffee embodies a lawgiver whose poor capacity of performing duties is taken to a level of maturity that must impact a good cause to even out forces and settle a general military issue in their organization that has long been silent because of the ill-intentioned officials on top such as Col. Jessup. Thus, the huge amount of tension to bear weighs upon Kaffee’s endeavor yet since he cannot be alone with the case, as nature takes course, he must be led to team up with others whose significant decisions may be stirred to align with the unconscious goal of reforming the Marine Corps. With the courage of Galloway and additional insights of Capt. Ross, Kaffee manages to come up with a sound and rational deliberation in the dramatic events of trials at court until he is able to bring Col. Jessup for prosecution. Such rendition of the film may be claimed to make much realistic sense as it illustrates perspectives that are quite close to real encounters. Lt. Col. Markinson’s character, for instance, initially exhibits a type that, despite the magnitude of rank, is weak as Markinson himself is unable to implement the powers in his possession, being subject to the manipulative command of Jessup. His role exemplifies a military man who has completely yielded to the ways and schemes of a system that occurs difficult to move out of so that at the crucial phase of coming to terms with his conscience, he simply commits suicide at realizing the gravity of his accountability over Santiago’s demise. Because the death of Markinson implies absence of key witness in court, Kaffee has to urge the daunting colonel who is most unwilling to lose any former shape of stature. When Jessup dares with “You want the truth?” and adds “You can’t handle the truth!”, it reflects not merely the colonel’s degree of might to intimidate and look down on his subjects but even the extent of his chosen incorrigible path that Kaffee and good company ought to break and struggle with in the name of dignity and justice. Work Cited “Memorable Quotes for ‘A Few Good Men (1992)’”. IMDb. 1990 – 2012. Web. 2 Dec 2012. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104257/quotes Read More