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Rob Reiner’s A Few Good Men follows naval lawyer Lt. Daniel Kaffee as he defends Lance Corporal Dawson and PFC Downey as they are accused of murdering fellow marine Private Santiago. Kaffee is working with Lt. Commander Jo Galloway and Lt. Sam Weinberg while working against Captain Ross, Lt. Kendrick, and Colonel Jessup. Though he has the odds against him, Danny is able to save Dawson and Downey, at the cost of them being dishonorably discharged but he also uncovers the conspiracy and helps put Jessup away.
Throughout A Few Good Men, sound is used in very interesting ways. Through the dialogue, sound effects, and score. Many scenes have direct references to previous scenes that you can only connect through its sound. Dialogue is often repeated for the sake of emphasis. Some scenes have no sound other than dialogue while other scenes are just scored. Sometimes the score is even changed up to show emphasis.
The mentality of the marines is shown with the way they speak and act. When Danny, Sam, and Jo visit Guantanamo Bay, we constantly hear them marching and chanting, even when we can’t see them. Then we have Dawson and Downey themselves, repeatedly told by Danny to stop saying “sir” but they never do, and also calling Galloway “ma’am”. There is only one time they don’t say it and it’s when Dawson has no other way to show disrespect for Danny.
In the opening shots, the music is dark and grim as Dawson and Downey loom over Santiago and assault him. When we go to the next scene, however, we see and hear a marching band followed by gun exercises; this juxtaposition shows us the difference for the life of a marine in Guantanamo Bay against the life of those in America. This comes up later in dialogue when Danny explains to Sam the differences in orders, saying they have softball games and marching bands while those in Guantanamo Bay need to follow every order they are given.
This isn’t the only time we get a callback to another scene using sound. While a score is often repeated throughout a movie, during A Few Good Men, the same notes are repeated under certain actions to show emphasis. For example, when Danny is looking through Santiago’s closet, we hear music as he brushes past the shirts, showing that he notices something. Each key is emphasized as he passes through each shirt. This score is mirrored over an hour later, in Kaffe’s own closet, with the same music, but different emphasis. The notes come more quickly as if to show everything is coming together. Another example is when Danny talks to Markinson, the first time they speak in private it’s loud while the second time it’s quieter, lower, and more eerie. The movie ends with a happy score of non-diegetic music building upwards mirroring the opening dark and downward score. The ending shows hope that Kaffee has learned how to be a lawyer from now on and will no longer be the fast-paced lawyer he’s been using no effort.
One way dialogue is used interestingly is with Danny’s questions. Danny is often asking Sam what certain words mean. This is for the benefit of the audience, so viewers get the answer and can further understand the movie. An example of this is when he jokingly asks “Was that 0600, in the morning?” This tactic is also used to introduce us to Jessup when Danny pretends to know who he is but Sam tells him right away, and this also introduces the audience to the character. This turns into a running joke as people say things they assume he doesn’t understand so they explain it anyway and his response is “I know what it means”.
Throughout one set of scenes, we hear rain the entire time, from Jo preparing Downey to Markinsons death to the courtroom with Ross’ cross-examination of Downey up until they decide to put Jessup on the stand. There is rain throughout and you can hear it throughout as pathetic fallacy to show everything going wrong but rain also brings about rebirth which is why I think that toward the end we get this hopeful score on top of dialogue leading to the decision to continue anyway with the rain finally stopping and we go into a new day and hear birds chirping and Danny playing basketball to show his confidence is regained.
In one of these scenes, Lt. Colonel Markinson is narrating over a suicide note/letter to the parents of Private Santiago, we hear somber music, the clicking of his buttons and belt, the tying of his shoes, the sharpness of his sword and the readiness of his gun. Along with all that we also hear the rain and faint thunder. Then, as he puts the gun in his mouth and fires, the film uses a flash and we transition into the courtroom where it’s raining outside and the sound of the gunshot could’ve just been the thunder. This alone isn’t much, until the next time we hear thunder when Danny is explaining Markinson’s death, and we don’t hear thunder until he says, “He took a silver-plated pistol and fired a bullet into his mouth.” It’s faint but one can hear a crack of thunder. This scene is also interesting as it’s where everything truly falls apart for our protagonists. As Ross questions Downey, we hear nothing but the dialogue and the rain, but when Ross picks up on a discrepancy, a score comes on starting quietly but high giving us an uneasy feeling and everything begins to spiral out of control. We hear rain and screaming before we hear a piano and everything is a mess.
One way the movie uses dialogue is by always using something you’d imagine to be the tiniest thing but has major effects on the story. Sam mentions wearing the whites in Cuba, which leads to Jessups outburst. This is how Danny is able to figure out what sets off Jessup which causes Danny’s triumph in the end. Another way the dialogue is used outstandingly and yet still subtly is with dismissals. Kaffee at the beginning starts to leave before Jo says “You’re dismissed.” He states “I always forget that part.” He then uses this when Jessup attempts to leave during direct examination when Kaffee states “I haven’t dismissed you yet.” It’s subtle but works as a callback to the previous scene showing Kaffee’s growth in maturity. One way it’s used less subtly is when we realize Kaffee is going to actually take on the case. At the beginning, to successfully plea bargain for the benefit of his client, he goes over all these filings he’ll do so opposing counsel will spend the next three months going “blind on paperwork.” He sees this as a win until Jo says that he’s “a used car salesman/ambulance chaser” trying to convince him to take Dawson and Downey’s case. He then goes to a bar and he hears a different lawyer saying that he did the same trick, “blind on paperwork” and all, to win his own case. The score is also used here to show his sudden realization. This is followed up in the next scene when Kaffee says he’ll defend them and the score is high and hopeful.
One of the best uses of dialogue however, is the iconic “You can’t handle the truth!” scene. This scene features no sound other than the dialogue between Kaffee and Jessup. Leading up to the outburst there is a bunch of chaos as many people are shouting over each other, this is similar to the chaos that Kaffees entire examination has been so far. We then get the simple back and forth between Kaffee and Jessup:
- Jessup: You want answers?
- Kaffee: I think I’m entitled.
- Jessup: You want answers?
- Kaffe: I want the truth!
- Jessup: You can’t handle the truth!
In many movies, a scene like this would have music going over it or some sort of sound effect to make it more memorable. This is the scene that people think of when they think of A Few Good Men, and there’s no music, no sound effects. The scene works perfectly with just the dialogue alone. The scene concludes with a monologue from Jessup and we do finally get a sound effect, a low creaking sound, hinting that he too is about to crack under pressure. We then hear the footsteps to Kaffees victory as he takes a couple of steps forward and asks “Did you order the code red?” and Jessup responds, “You’re goddamn right I did!” before a brief silence allowing everyone including the audience to allow this information to sink in.
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