So a couple of different threads (the West Wing one, the B-Directors, and the Character Actors one) finally got me to pick this one up.
Now, I'm one of the biggest fans of Aaron Sorkin (some even say I suck his dick), and I think this is a very good movie. However, the reason I'll watch this movie more than once isn't about Sorkin's writing. The performances make it for me.
I like Reiner takes the play and opens it up, makes it move--you can almost see the Sorkin Pedeconference being invented here. It's fun Demi Moore desperately trying to play ball with the big boys, and failing. I love how the supporting cast is an array of "that guys," from Xander Berkley to Noah Wyle to the great J.T. Walsh and Christopher Guest. A special shout-out must go to Kiefer Sutherland--in a history of bad guys, this is one of his best. The characters feel full and alive--take, for example, the banter between Kevin Pollack and Tom Cruise. ("Good call, Sam.") And, of course, there's Cruise's Nicholson impression.
I love the moments that come between the snappy dialogue, too. For example, during the Kiefer Sutherland interrogation, when Cruise asks him for the last time if he ordered the Code Red, you can see Kendrick shaken, fighting internally between doing what's right and betraying the Core. His "No, I did not" comes as a man who has to reassure himself that this lie saves lives.
Then there's Nicholson. I think it's a great idea to have him appear once during each act--just once--but Jessup is in every other scene. He's there, as a representation of The Marines. He's Goliath, and while it's full of "Jack being Jack," it's also a great performance. The "You Can't Handle The Truth" scene has passed over into our collective memory to the point where even those who haven't seen it can quote it, but that whole scene is masterful. Look at Cruise in it--he's just as good as Jack. There's that great, wordless exchange after Nicholson slaps him down the first time, where he looks to Pollack, then to Moore, and then to his clients. Should I go for it? Is disgracing my father--disgracing myself--really worth going for it?
And then he does, and things play out like he doesn't expect. His reaction is great--it's one of the best "Holy Shit" moments from a character. He got the answer he never thought he would get, and he has to shake himself out of it, remind himself what he has to do now. At which point Kevin Bacon steps up.
I think the "The End" is a nice touch by Reiner, though--it's a great throwback to movie history, and it does remind us that this has been A Fantasy of The Way Things Ought To Be But Ever Rarely Are. This is one where the good guys win.
Now, I'm one of the biggest fans of Aaron Sorkin (some even say I suck his dick), and I think this is a very good movie. However, the reason I'll watch this movie more than once isn't about Sorkin's writing. The performances make it for me.
I like Reiner takes the play and opens it up, makes it move--you can almost see the Sorkin Pedeconference being invented here. It's fun Demi Moore desperately trying to play ball with the big boys, and failing. I love how the supporting cast is an array of "that guys," from Xander Berkley to Noah Wyle to the great J.T. Walsh and Christopher Guest. A special shout-out must go to Kiefer Sutherland--in a history of bad guys, this is one of his best. The characters feel full and alive--take, for example, the banter between Kevin Pollack and Tom Cruise. ("Good call, Sam.") And, of course, there's Cruise's Nicholson impression.
I love the moments that come between the snappy dialogue, too. For example, during the Kiefer Sutherland interrogation, when Cruise asks him for the last time if he ordered the Code Red, you can see Kendrick shaken, fighting internally between doing what's right and betraying the Core. His "No, I did not" comes as a man who has to reassure himself that this lie saves lives.
Then there's Nicholson. I think it's a great idea to have him appear once during each act--just once--but Jessup is in every other scene. He's there, as a representation of The Marines. He's Goliath, and while it's full of "Jack being Jack," it's also a great performance. The "You Can't Handle The Truth" scene has passed over into our collective memory to the point where even those who haven't seen it can quote it, but that whole scene is masterful. Look at Cruise in it--he's just as good as Jack. There's that great, wordless exchange after Nicholson slaps him down the first time, where he looks to Pollack, then to Moore, and then to his clients. Should I go for it? Is disgracing my father--disgracing myself--really worth going for it?
And then he does, and things play out like he doesn't expect. His reaction is great--it's one of the best "Holy Shit" moments from a character. He got the answer he never thought he would get, and he has to shake himself out of it, remind himself what he has to do now. At which point Kevin Bacon steps up.
I think the "The End" is a nice touch by Reiner, though--it's a great throwback to movie history, and it does remind us that this has been A Fantasy of The Way Things Ought To Be But Ever Rarely Are. This is one where the good guys win.
