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A Few Good Men
When cocky military lawyer Lt. Daniel Kaffee and his co-counsel, Lt. Cmdr. JoAnne Galloway, are assigned to a murder case, they uncover a hazing ritual that could implicate high-ranking officials such as shady Col. Nathan Jessep.
1992 · Directed by Rob Reiner · 138 min · Drama · Screenplay in the scene database · 16 frames
Tagline
In the heart of the nation's capital, in a courthouse of the U.S. government, one man will stop at nothing to keep his honor, and one will stop at nothing to find the truth.
Plot
At Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, United States Marine Private William Santiago dies after being tied up and beaten in the middle of the night. Lance Corporal Harold Dawson and Private First Class Louden Downey face court-martial, accused of murder. Their defense is assigned to United States Navy JAG Corps lieutenant (junior grade) Daniel Kaffee, who has a record of expedient plea bargains but no courtroom experience. Santiago died after breaking the chain of command to ask for a transfer. The base's second-in-command, Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Markinson, advocated for it, but the base commander, Colonel Nathan Jessep, ordered Santiago's platoon commander, First Lieutenant Jonathan Kendrick, to "train" Santiago on the grounds that the entire platoon is at fault for Santiago's substandard performance.
Kaffee's co-counsel, Lieutenant Commander Joanne Galloway, suspects Dawson and Downey carried out a "code red" violent extrajudicial punishment. Galloway is bothered by Kaffee's blasé approach, and Kaffee resents Galloway's interference. Kaffee and Galloway question Jessep and others at Guantanamo Bay and are met with contempt. Kaffee negotiates a plea bargain with the prosecutor, US Marine Judge Advocate Captain Jack Ross. Dawson and Downey would be sentenced to two years for involuntary manslaughter, including six months of confinement, enabling them to avoid a possible life sentence if convicted at trial. Dawson is openly disrespectful of Kaffee, and Dawson and Downey refuse the "dishonorable" deal, insisting Kendrick gave them the "code red" order and that they never intended to kill Santiago.
Initially intending to be removed as defense counsel, Kaffee unexpectedly enters not guilty pleas at the arraignment. Markinson secretly meets Kaffee and says Jessep never ordered Santiago's transfer. The defense establishes that Dawson had a motive to implement the order; he previously received a negative performance review from Kendrick and was denied promotion after disobeying an order and smuggling food to a confined marine who was restricted to water and vitamins. Through Downey, Kaffee proves that illegal "code reds" had previously been ordered.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin
- Cinematography: Robert Richardson
- Edited by: Robert Leighton, Steven Nevius
- Music: Marc Shaiman
- Production design: J. Michael Riva
- Produced by: Andrew Scheinman, Rob Reiner, David Brown
Cast
- Tom Cruise as Lt. Daniel Kaffee
- Jack Nicholson as Col. Nathan R. Jessep
- Demi Moore as Lt. Cdr. JoAnne Galloway
- Kevin Bacon as Capt. Jack Ross
- Kiefer Sutherland as Lt. Jonathan Kendrick
- Kevin Pollak as Lt. Sam Weinberg
- James Marshall as Pfc. Louden Downey
- J.T. Walsh as Lt. Col. Matthew A. Markinson
- Christopher Guest as Dr. Stone
- J.A. Preston as Judge Randolph
Production
- Country: United States of America
- Language: English, French
- Studios: David Brown Productions, Castle Rock Entertainment
- Budget: $40,000,000
- Box office: $243,240,178
- Themes: underdog, dying and death, suicide, navy, right and justice, court case, suspicion of murder, guantanamo bay, marine corps, military court
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