It wasn’t long before the start of the Venice International Film Festival that William Friedkin, an iconic filmmaker who made a significant impact in the 70s and 80s by releasing classics such as The French Connection and The Exorcist, unfortunately passed away. The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial is the last film written and directed by him, in a new adaptation of the 1953 play of the same name – the first adaptation emerged in 1954 by Edward Dmytryk and received seven Oscar nominations – also adapted from the 1951’s original novel. Expectations were somewhat uncertain, with only a personal wish that it wouldn’t be a disappointing farewell for Friedkin…

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial Critique

Despite being far from a masterpiece, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial is, in fact, a satisfying “goodbye” to Friedkin’s dichotomy between the concepts of “good” and “evil”, a theme deeply studied throughout his filmography. Of all the filmmaking and storytelling styles, the containment of the narrative in a single location for the entire runtime is, without a doubt, one of the purest forms of cinema that gives me the most pleasure to watch. It’s the biggest test any filmmaker can face in their career, as they can’t hide behind stunning visual effects, fascinating fantastical elements, or adrenaline-charged action set pieces.

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In The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, the “action” is exclusively reliant on words spoken during a court session that takes up practically the entire 109 minutes. Lt. Greenwald (Jason Clarke) is Lt. Maryk’s (Jake Lacy) defense attorney, while Commander Challee (Monica Raymund) leads the prosecution in a trial about the events that led to Lt. Commander Queeg’s (Kiefer Sutherland) removal as Captain of the USS Caine by Maryk. The big question is whether it was a real mutiny or whether Maryk actually has the law on his side for such replacement authority.

The superb performances from the entire cast are essential to the movie’s success. When the camera cannot focus on anything other than the characters present in an isolated room, the actors become simultaneously the narrative’s lighter and fire. Clarke (Oppenheimer), Lacy (Significant Other), Raymund (Bros), and Lance Reddick (John Wick: Chapter 4) deserve immense praise, but Sutherland (They Cloned Tyrone) manages to truly incorporate the aforementioned dichotomy into his character. The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial is purposefully ambiguous in its definition of what’s right or wrong from a moral and ethical perspective, but it doesn’t fail to put all the evidence and details on the table for viewers to draw their own conclusions.

Queeg perfectly represents the main theme that Friedkin explored so well throughout his cinematic life. A character who gave his all to his country but, over the years, saw his mental stability and consequently his competence as Captain of a ship called into question. The distress, anxiety, and fear with which Queeg responds to the interrogations highlight the inner dilemmas he tries to confront, which left me with a lot of pity and even sadness for someone so dedicated and with so much affection for what he did over 21 years being judged in the manner that Greenwald conducts his defense.

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Clarke also plays an excellent example of a character who, ever since he reluctantly accepted the “mission” of defending Maryk, knew that there was only one way he could win the case, but that would lead him to take an aggressive, uncomfortable stance. It’s through the interactions between Greenwald and Queeg that The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial becomes incredibly interesting and quite tense, making every minute fly by.

However, it’s also through Queeg’s testimony that a delicate situation arises that’s perhaps difficult to explain without falling into the trap of sounding presumptuous. The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial holds some moments of humor, most of which come from a sequence with QM3 Urban (Gabe Kessler), an inexperienced young man who had just started on the USS Caine. Urban causes audible, necessary laughter to alleviate the constantly serious, dramatic tone of the court, in addition to breaking the redundancy and structural repetition of the screenplay during the first half of the film.

That said, I don’t believe Friedkin tried to insert many more comedic scenes, much less when the fragile Queeg finds himself testifying. During my particular viewing, there were some laughs at moments when I felt such tremendous pity for the Captain and his difficulty in dealing with his tremors, nervousness, and lack of memory. Personally, I consider this behavior a tad disrespectful towards people who live with these issues with more or less impact on their lives, even more so when they become targets of mockery for simply giving in to the nature of their age.

The completely opposite reading by some audience members isn’t exclusively their fault, as Friedkin is also not clear about his intent concerning these particular moments. The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial carefully approaches the sensitive themes at hand, but some lack of tonal balance damages this thematic consistency. Naturally, the usual court procedures become heavily repetitive and, at times, too focused on technical vocabulary specific to the navy, especially during the beginning of the movie, which takes time to up its gear.

The dialogue is beautifully executed by the whole cast, with clear diction and, above all, important pauses to establish a captivating rhythm, even when the momentum of the session is at its lowest. The ending of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial holds a final message that couldn’t be forgotten, and I couldn’t have been happier for Clarke to deliver it so powerfully. Still, the scene itself and the revelations within come without any build-up, giving the odd feeling of having been a last-minute addition when, of course, it was always meant to end like this.

In Conclusion

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial might not be the greatest farewell for William Friedkin, but the one-location court session is one of the purest forms of cinema, boasting satisfying levels of tension as well as quick, intense dialogue elevated by exceptional performances from the entire cast, namely Kiefer Sutherland. A viewing that flies by, despite the repetitive, predictably ambiguous structure that doesn’t always fit into the study of the dichotomy between “good” and “evil”. Still, it remains captivating from start to finish.

6/10

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