Military institutions are built on following orders and depend on hierarchal structures to keep their operations running. When a commander has lost the trust of those serving under them, it can be chaotic and disastrous. Attempting to take control due to perceived dereliction of or unfitness for duty is a major step, one sure to have repercussions. William Friedkin’s final film, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, probes the aftermath of such a decision for the man charged with mutiny – and the commander he relieved.
Lt. Maryk (Jake Lacy) stands accused following his action to take charge of the U.S.S. Caine after doubting the ability of his superior officer, Lt. Commander Queeg (Kiefer Sutherland), to safely navigate in the face of a powerful cyclone. Lt. Commander Challee (Monica Raymund) serves as prosecutor, bringing Queeg to the stand right away to present his side of the story, while Lt. Greenwald (Jason Clarke) serves as defense attorney for Maryk, bringing in other disgruntled officers to air their grievances about Queeg. Captain Blakely (Lance Reddick) heads the panel of judges who will decide Maryk’s fate.
This film shares its source material, the 1952 novel The Caine Mutiny, with a 1954 film of the same name that was nominated for Best Picture, as well as a play first produced shortly after the release of the book. The format of this 2023 version feels most like a stage production, with all but one introductory and one ending scene set within the courtroom. Because Queeg speaks first, it’s hard to know Maryk’s mindset and what propelled him to do what he did, but as with any legal drama, the truth soon comes to light as the chance to speak one’s own mind becomes too tempting for a more favorable lie.
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival last month ahead of its debut on Showtime, now folded into Paramount+, is the last film from renowned filmmaker William Friedkin, who died in August at the age of eighty-seven. The director’s first film was more than half a century ago, and his resume includes such classics as The French Connection and The Exorcist. This is his first film in over a decade, and it’s intriguing to see how he helms a film that in some ways feels like a purposefully current retelling but includes few modern flairs to distinguish it from a product made much earlier in his career.
This film features a quintet of strong performances, as well as a number of brief appearances including Lewis Pullman, Jay Duplass, and Tom Riley as servicemen called to the witness stand. Sutherland, a veteran of television best known for 24 and most recently seen in another Paramount+ production, Rabbit Hole, brings a sense of entitlement and rigidity to Queeg that he deconstructs as the film goes on. Lacy, an Emmy nominee last year for The White Lotus, has a relatively small part for his character’s relevance to the story, and contributes appropriately without stealing the limelight. Raymund conveys the strong disdain she has for this subversion of authority and is well-matched by Clarke, in a similar if somewhat less overtly antagonistic role to the one he played in Oppenheimer. Reddick, who sadly also died earlier this year, delivers a reliably firm performance as a decider of justice who knows exactly when and when not to insert himself into the proceedings.
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial functions adequately enough as a TV movie, available to audiences to watch at home on their own time. Its one-room setting forces viewers to remain present and not have helpful hints about what actually happened, relying instead on the testimony given just as the judges must. The urgency of remaking this film at this moment doesn’t feel high, but it’s nonetheless a decent legal drama that features a capable cast and represents a fine parting effort for two respected members of the industry who will be greatly missed.
Grade: B
Check out more of Abe Friedtanzer’s articles.
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial is stream exclusively on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME.