The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial

Court Transcript

Bailiff: All rise for The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. The honored Judge Mental presiding.

Judge: Call the critic.

Enter JETHRO.

Prosecutor: Jethro, have you provided a brief of the work's history?

Jethro: Yes. This happens to be the latest adaptation of Herman Wouk's novel The Caine Mutiny, which was most famously filmed in 1954, and dramatized by its author on Broadway under this film's title. This particular version is also the final film for the recently deceased director and writer William Friedkin. I covered the sequel...

Prosecutor: That's enough. What's the movie about?

Jethro: It's about The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial.

Silence.

Jethro: Obviously. When the film opens, Lt. Stephen Maryk (Jake Lacy) is standing trial for unjustly relieving Lt. Commander Queeg (Keifer Sutherland) when their ship, the USS Caine, was caught in a storm and the captain couldn't captain. That mutiny was the culmination of Queeg's erratic behavior throughout the tour of duty, so says Maryk. Maryk's lawyer, Lt. Greenwald (Jason Clarke) thinks his client is guilty. It's up to the trial board presided by Captain Blakely (the also recently deceased Lance Reddick) to decide whose career is on the line.

Prosecutor: What did you think of the film, Jethro?

Jethro: On my first watch, I found all the talking pretty overwhelming. The film is specifically based on the play, after all, and you can tell. Oh, you can tell. The logistics of its ending didn't make much sense either. Fortunately, as I watch the film a second time, specifically as I write this, its intricacies make a bit more sense. I mean, the film wants to be ambiguous whether the mutiny was justified or not. 

Prosecutor: And do you think it is?

Jethro: Sutherland's performance makes me think it was a bit warranted. What we see of Queeg is that he's a nervous wreck, the kind who would freeze up during a storm. He also accuses Maryk of exactly what Maryk accuses him of in clear denialist form. But he's such a nervous wreck that we still pity him. It also helps his case that Maryk's opinion was influenced by co-defendant Keefer's (Lewis Pullman) dubious knowledge of psychiatry. It's pretty reasonable for Maryk to take charge during an emergency. But was Queeg really out of it? Suddenly, the ending makes a bit more sense.

Prosecutor: And what about the rest of the cast?

Jethro: They're all fine. Maryk does a good job of presenting his case, while Keefer's case shakes once we learn of his psychiatric "knowledge." Greenwald's best moment comes when he confronts Keefer at the end. We feel it when the normally quiet Blakely all but threatens to throw the book at Maryk. The supporting standout is Petty Officer Urban (Gabe Kessler), whose one scene has him give an utterly clueless testimony. How clueless? He doesn't seem to know what the trial is about. Overall, no further objections.

Judge: I've heard enough. You give the verdict, Jethro.

Jethro: The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial is a slow and talkative courtroom film. It's also worth seeing, if once, for Sutherland's performance and the distinction of it being Friedkin's final film. It's currently playing on Showtime, which is how I saw it, and is streaming on Paramount +. I'll leave it to you to decide when and where to watch it. I'll leave it up to you to decide whose side you're on. That's what the film wanted. But why a trial? There's no defense and the prosecutor did nothing.

Prosecutor: And did it well.

Judge: I'll do something. Adjourn the case.

End of trial.