A Few Good Men is one of my favorites films, the
kind that you can watch repeatedly and still enjoy. The movie is just so well-written; the plot
is riveting, it challenges the viewer with regard to some fairly important
issues, but ultimately, it’s a coming of age story. It’s about initiation, folks like Gary Black,
Michael Hindes and Seth Barnes would say.
Lt. j.g.
Dan Kaffee, played by Tom Cruise, has been a U.S. Navy JAG attorney for less
than a year. He graduated from Harvard
Law and his late father was attorney general. He’s been assigned to defend two Marines who are on trial for murder,
which seems impossible to win per his estimation.
Yet Cmdr.
Jo Galloway, played by Demi Moore, sees Kaffee’s talent and throughout the
film, continues to spur Kaffee on in spite of himself. I think that’s what we, in World Race
circles, refer to as calling out greatness. Anyway, one of the pivotal plot points occurs after a terrible day in
the courtroom – they had overlooked a crucial detail which blew up in their
face under cross-examination, their star witness killed himself despite being
under surveillance.
The only
way left for Kaffee to make his case for the defendants puts him – namely, his
career – at risk. As far as he knows,
they’ve lost; however, Galloway urges him to go for it, as she has always
done. It’s clear as crystal to her but
almost unfathomable to Kaffee that he has what it takes to win.
He’s
intimidated then lashes out at Galloway. Here’s one of my favorite scenes in the movie, it’s after Kaffee calms
down a bit and has a “one-on-one” (another World Race-ism) with his colleague
and friend Lt. j.g. Sam Weinberg:
Sam: Did I ever
tell you that I wrote a paper on your father in college?
Kaffee: Yeah?
S: He was one of
the best trial lawyers ever.
K: Yes he was.
S: And if I were
Dawson and Downey and I had a choice between you or your father to represent me
in this case, I’d take you any day of the week and twice on Sunday. You should have seen yourself thunder away at
Kendrick.
K: Would you put Jessup on the stand?
S: No.
K: You think my father would’ve?
S: With the
evidence we’ve got? Not in a million
years. But here’s the thing-and there’s
really no way of getting around this – neither Lionel Kaffee nor Sam Weinberg
are lead counsel for the defense in the matter of U.S. versus Dawson and Downey. So there’s only one question: what would you
do?
This
morning’s session with Gary reminded me of this storyline. As God’s sons and daughters, we have what it
takes. God has delegated His authority
to us; His very Spirit dwells in each of us.
But
somewhere along the way I somehow forgot and a certain spirit known as
intimidation stalked us. But thanks to
family like the Blacks and Allison, they knocked some sense into us – I had the
privilege of being called out by Gary twice, in fact.
So I
won’t hold back, nor will I hold out again.
If you’ve
seen A Few Good Men, you know how
Kaffee answers the question. Likewise,
here I come, storming my courtroom. Or
as a certain coach told us, here I come, riding furiously like a mad woman with
my fellow Lunchboxes. Watch out,
Tanzania. . .
