The latest adaptation of the famed courtroom drama The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial arrives under the cloud of a double sadness, for the dual losses of co-star Lance Reddick and director William Friedkin, both of whom passed away in the time between the film’s completion and its premiere on the Showtime cable network. In the case of the latter, the movie might have served as a notable comeback for the Oscar-winning filmmaker whose career had foundered after the back-to-back successes of The French Connection and The Exorcist five decades ago.
For the actor’s part, Reddick was still in the midst of a thriving career spanning numerous TV shows and movies. He reprised his recurring role in the John Wick franchise earlier this year, and had several projects in various stages of development or production at the time of his death. The sense of authority and resolve he brought to most of his performances made him well suited to playing a judge in a military tribunal.
| Title: | The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial |
| Year of Release: | 2023 |
| Director: | William Friedkin |
| Watched On: | Paramount+ |
| Also Available On: | Showtime |
The tale of The Caine Mutiny has been around the block (or the nautical mile, as it were) a few times. The story originated in a 1951 novel by Herman Wouk, which the author himself adapted into a successful Broadway play in 1954. That same year came the first film adaptation, directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Humphrey Bogart, based on the novel. Robert Altman later directed a staging of the play for television in 1988.
Friedkin’s film, like Altman’s, is technically based on the play rather than the novel, hence the “Court-Martial” addendum to the title. Unlike the Bogart movie, this one depicts no events aboard the title ship. All action is confined solely to the court-martial trial afterward, and the entire film takes place in a single setting, the courtroom. Naturally, some of the story details have been updated to move it up to the present day.
Kiefer Sutherland headlines the cast as Lt. Cmdr. Phillip Queeg, former captain of the naval mine-sweeper ship U.S.S. Caine. While operating in the Strait of Hormuz the prior year, the ship was caught in a cyclone and came on the verge of sinking. In the heat of these events, Queeg was forcibly relieved of command by his Executive Officer, Lt. Stephen Maryk (Jake Lacy), citing the captain’s mental incompetence. Despite having then steered the ship to safety, Maryk must now stand trial for the very serious crime of mutiny. Queeg takes the stand to testify against him and clear a black mark off his own otherwise spotless record.
Jason Clarke (recently in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer) plays Lt. Greenwald, the attorney defending Maryk, while Monica Raymund (Chicago Fire) is the prosecutor attempting to tear his case apart. Lewis Pullman (callsign “Bob” in Top Gun: Maverick) is Lt. Keefer, the ship’s communications officer and the main backer of Maryk’s side of the story. Reddick is head judge of the tribunal. Although a few other witnesses are brought in to testify, the bulk of the drama comes down to this small group of characters.
As Queeg insists that the ship, while in a bad spot, was never truly in danger of sinking, that he had the situation well in hand, and that Maryk’s actions were the result of panic and insubordination, the defense paints a picture of the captain being a petty tyrant unfit for command. Greenwald, who seems at first to be unprepared if not unqualified for this trial, slowly and stealthily builds a case that backs Queeg into a corner where he can unwittingly hang himself in front of a court that had previously been predisposed to siding with the officer.
Viewers unfamiliar with the source will find clear comparisons between this story and A Few Good Men – that movie, and the play it was based on, being obviously inspired by the original Caine Mutiny. However, in what almost seems like uncharacteristic fashion for William Friedkin, the director makes a concerted effort to dial down the theatrics and the dramatic fireworks. Just as you expect an explosive “You can’t handle the truth!” outburst from Queeg, Sutherland internalizes his performance, clenching up and bottling the character’s rage inside himself. For as many faults as he may have, this is a career military officer who damn well knows how he’s supposed to comport himself, and how bad it looks for him when he doesn’t.
As William Friedkin’s final film, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial may feel out of character for the director in a lot of ways. In form, this is a pretty standard courtroom drama, staged efficiently but with no particular stylistic flair. At times, it feels like almost anyone could have planted a couple cameras in a room and filmed it. On the other hand, the writing is strong and the performances are all excellent. Perhaps the director’s smartest contribution was knowing enough to stay out of the way of those things and let the story tell itself in the best way it wants to be told.
A final plot twist, taken from the novel, also delivers a powerful blow that puts the entire story into a different and very sobering perspective.
Video Streaming
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial debuted on the Showtime cable network October 6, 2023, with simultaneous streaming on Paramount+. I chose the latter as the (comparatively) better option, even though I’ve been extremely frustrated with the glitchy Paramount+ app that never seems to work properly no matter what streaming device I use to access it.
Paramount+ streams the movie in 4K HDR. The 1.85:1 image is razor sharp in nearly every shot, such that skin pores and the stubble on actors’ faces are resolved in stark clarity. The film’s photography may not be very showy, but it’s represented with rich contrast and color. On the other hand, the damn app caused the picture to stutter repeatedly during my viewing. That problem may be device dependent, or could have been a server issue at the particular time I watched. Whatever the cause, I found it irritating enough that I felt it worth mentioning.
The Dolby 5.1 soundtrack is almost entirely dialogue start-to-finish. A very brief piece of music plays at the opening and a weirdly incongruous song over the end credits, but the body of the film otherwise has no music and hardly any sound effects. As far as that goes, the dialogue is clear with fine fidelity. Surround activity is not a factor with this track.
Related
- William Friedkin
- Kiefer Sutherland
- Naval Insurrection Drama
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