A FEW GOOD MEN
A film review by Jon Webb
Copyright 1993 Jon Webb
I was reluctant to see this film because I'm not wild about Tom Cruise, but THE CRYING GAME hasn't hit Pittsburgh yet, and it came down to a choice between HOFFA, which my wife didn't want to see, and this, which I'd actually heard was good. So we went.
It turned out to be a pretty good film, after all. It is entertaining, funny, and has plenty of good acting, especially from Jack Nicholson (no surprise there) and Tom Cruise (big surprise to me).
Tom Cruise is a nonchalant but successful Navy lawyer who is handed a politically sensitive case: two Marines at Guantanamo Bay have accidentally killed another in a hazing incident ordered by the base commander, Jack Nicholson. Of course, Tom Cruise mus come to terms with his inability to take anything seriously, grow up, etc.
What makes this film good is that it is obvious that Tom Cruise is having a great time. His performance is full of energy and fun. I'm really beginning to think that I've underestimated Tom Cruise; I think that he can still be a great actor, even though he keeps playing the same character over and over. After all, many of the great male actors have managed to become great with only one good character -- look at, for example, Jimmy Cagney.
Jack Nicholson's performance is rich and interesting, too, although he's not on that much. At the end, in the courtroom, he seems like an out of control bull; I would have been terrified to be there with him.
By the way, there's a marvelous moment when Cruise imitates Nicholson's character. Watch for it.
Demi Moore's performance is a real downer, not interesting at all, at least to me.
I respected the screenplay because it showed restraint; some of the more obvious cliches are avoided, e.g., in the relationship between Moore and Cruise. Some of the little tricks are clever, like the cliched conversation between Cruise and the newspaper seller.
The direction felt a little odd. I couldn't tell what was going on in Cruise's mind during the courtroom confrontation with Nicholson. Similarly with the earlier meeting in Guantanamo Bay.
-- J
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