Script To Screen: “A Few Good Men”
Perhaps the most memorable scene from the 1992 drama A Few Good Men, screenplay by Aaron Sorkin based on his play.
Perhaps the most memorable scene from the 1992 drama A Few Good Men, screenplay by Aaron Sorkin based on his play.
JESSEP
Sometimes men take matters into their
own hands. KAFFEE
No sir. You made it clear just a
moment ago that your men never take
matters into their own hands. Your
men follow orders or people die. So
Santiago shouldn't have been in any
danger at all, should he have,
Colonel? Everyone's sweating now. Everyone but KAFFEE. JESSEP
You little bastard. ROSS
Your Honor, I have to ask for a recess
to -- KAFFEE
I'd like an answer to the question,
Judge. RANDOLPH
The Court'll wait for answer. KAFFEE
If Kendrick told his men that Santiago
wasn't to be touched, then why did
he have to be transferred? Jessep is looking at O'MALLEY and PEREZ. KAFFEE
(continuing)
Colonel? JESSEP says nothing. KAFFEE
(continuing)
Kendrick ordered the code red, didn't
he? Because that's what you told
Kendrick to do. ROSS
Object! RANDOLPH
Counsel. KAFFEE will plow through the objections of ROSS and
the admonishments of RANDOLPH.
KAFFEE
And when it went bad, you cut these
guys loose. ROSS
Your Honor -- RANDOLPH
That'll be all, counsel. KAFFEE
You had Markinson sign a phony
transfer order -- ROSS
Judge -- KAFFEE
You doctored the log books. ROSS
Damnit Kaffee!! KAFFEE
I'll ask for the forth time. You
ordered -- JESSEP
You want answers? KAFFEE
I think I'm entitled to them. JESSEP
You want answers?! KAFFEE
I want the truth. JESSEP
You can't handle the truth! And nobody moves. JESSEP
(continuing)
Son, we live in a world that has
walls. And those walls have to be
guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna
do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg? I
have a greater responsibility than
you can possibly fathom. You weep
for Santiago and you curse the
marines. You have that luxury. You
have the luxury of not knowing what
I know: That Santiago's death, while
tragic, probably saved lives. And my
existence, while grotesque and
incomprehensible to you, saves lives.
(beat)
You don't want the truth. Because
deep down, in places you don't talk
about at parties, you want me on
that wall. You need me there.
(boasting)
We use words like honor, code,
loyalty... we use these words as the
backbone to a life spent defending
something. You use 'em as a punchline.
(beat)
I have neither the time nor the
inclination to explain myself to a
man who rises and sleeps under the
blanket of the very freedom I provide,
then questions the manner in which I
provide it. I'd prefer you just said
thank you and went on your way.
Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a
weapon and stand a post. Either way,
I don't give a damn what you think
you're entitled to. KAFFEE
(quietly)
Did you order the code red? JESSEP
(beat)
I did the job you sent me to do. KAFFEE
Did you order the code red? JESSEP
(pause)
You're goddamn right I did. Silence. From everyone. RANDOLPH, ROSS, the M.P.'s,
they're all frozen. JO and SAM are likewise. JESSEP
seems strangely, quietly relieved. KAFFEE simply
takes control of the room now.
The movie version of the scene:
The dialogue is almost verbatim in the movie. For you budding directors out there, track the cameras shots, especially the use of close-ups and medium shots.
The interesting thing is a few scenes previous to this one, Kaffee lays out precisely what his goal is:
He sees that SAM and JO were already sitting down. KAFFEE
(continuing)
Good.
(beat)
Jessep told Kendrick to order a code
red. Kendrick did, and our clients
followed the order. The cover-up
isn't our case. To win, Jessep has
to tell the jury that he ordered the
code red. SAM
And you think you can got him to
just say it? KAFFEE
I think he wants to say it. I think
he's pissed off that he's gotta hide
from us. I think he wants to say
that he made a command decision and
that's the end of it. He eats
breakfast 80 yards away from 4000
Cubans who are trained to kill him,
and no one's gonna tell him how to
run his base. Least of all the pushy
broad, the smart Jew, and the Harvard
clown. I need to shake him and put
him on the defensive. SAM and JO are silent for a moment. SAM
That's it? That's the plan? KAFFEE
That's the plan.
In effect, Sorkin tells us precisely where the story is head. What he doesn’t reveal is how Kaffee is going to get Jessep there. And that… is good writing.
One of the best things you can do to learn the craft of screenwriting is to read the script while watching the movie. After all a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie and it’s that magic of what happens between printed page and final print that can inform how you approach writing scenes. That is the purpose of Script to Screen, a series on GITS where we analyze a memorable movie scene and the script pages that inspired it.
For more articles in the Script To Screen series, go here.