Notes on "A Few Good Men"

Just read the script for A Few Good Men. Here are some observations:

1. I think it was Robert Towne who said that a story is really about four or five moments between people. I call them the, “gimme the friggin’ remote, I need to see that again” scenes. MOST OF THE STORY EXISTS TO CREATE THOSE SCENES. In AFGW, we have:
a. “You can’t handle the truth.”
b. The scene where Captain Ross (Kevin Bacon) extracts from Private Downey that he couldn’t have been in his room at 4:20 because his transport broke down.
c. The scene where Corporal Dawson keeps his hands in his pockets rather than salute Kaffee (Tom Cruise). If you don’t remember it, watch the film again and tell me if you think it’s a great scene.
d. Etc.

2. A perfect storm of crises.
Plot point #2 (about p90 or ¾ of the way through through the film), is where the hero, despite his heroic efforts, is is far from his goal as he can possibly be. Think Charlie and Rosie hopelessly stuck in the mud in The African Queen. Or, Buffy catatonic in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 5 finale. Or Clarice Starling saying, “it’s over” when Hannibal escapes. Or Irv telling Popeye Doyle (The French Connection) that the car is clean. To create this emotion, you need a crisis. Even better if you have multiple crises, simultaneously converging on disaster. That is, a perfect storm of crises. In AFGM, at plot point #2, not only has Private Downey revealed that he wasn’t in his room when he said he was, but Colonel Markinson commits suicide. It’s hopeless, baby. Note: this pattern describes a dramatic comedy, such as AFGM. By contrast a dramatic tragedy has an exuberant, “If-only” scene at plot point #2.

3. Jo (Demo Moore) is a complex, contradictory and hence interesting character. She’s passionate but has no street smarts. She’s extremely tough, yet vulnerable. Hard working but incompetent. Tom Cruise gets the credit but, in some ways, she drives the story. For writers, this shows the value of good secondary characters. Check out her introduction:

CAPTAIN WEST
Joanne, why don't you get yourself a cup of coffee.

JO
Thank you, sir, I'm fine.

WEST
Joanne, I'd like you to leave the room so we can talk about you behind your back.

It’s a funny, concise, character-establishing scene.

4. There’s an old joke in the real estate biz. QUESTION: What are the three most important words in real estate? ANSWER: Location, location, location. Similarly, in a story, it’s important to choose a setting that provides conflict and coolness. For example, Jaws, where a shark attacks not just any town but a tourism-dependent town on the July 4th weekend protected by a police chief afraid of water. That brilliant setting provides the material for most of the conflict. In AFGM, the “incident” happens not at any old marine base, not Parris Island, not Camp Pendleton, but GITMO. Writers need to take their settings to the edge to provide conflict.