‘The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial’ Review – William Friedkin’s Gripping Final Film

With the recent loud return to the Exorcist franchise in David Gordon Green’s Exorcist: Believer, it’s likely that many have overlooked the famed director of the original’s latest effort released on Showtime the same weekend. The late William Friedkin’s final film, an adaptation of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, shows off quite the cast, including Jason Clarke, Kiefer Sutherland, Monica Raymund, and up-and-comers Jake Lacy and Lewis Pullman. Of course, the film also features a performance from the wonderful Lance Reddick who also passed away earlier this year. This film is the fourth such adaptation of a play which itself was adapted from a novel, both written by Herman Wouk.

Given that The Caine Mutiny is adapted from a play, it tracks that the emphasis of this film is the performances found at its center. Jake Lacy and Lewis Pullman give solid performances as Lieutenant Maryk and Lieutenant Keefer, and Lance Reddick’s Captain Blakely commands the room at every opportunity. The true stars of this actors’ showcase, however, are Jason Clarke as Lieutenant Greenwald, Maryk’s lawyer, and Kiefer Sutherland as Lieutenant Commander Queeg, the commanding officer of the Caine that Maryk is claiming no longer has full control of his mental faculties.

It is this alleged behavior that prompts Maryk to relieve Queeg of his duties while the ship was caught in a storm at sea, thus leading to this court-martial case. Clarke gets an opportunity to expand on a similar role he played in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer earlier this year. He’s got the loud, inquisitive lawyer down and shines in the more fleshed-out part here. Kiefer Sutherland goes once more into the courtroom drama genre and delivers one of his best performances in years. Queeg’s idiosyncratic quirks and inclinations are perfectly portrayed by Sutherland and he makes it feel as if he’s either as out of control as Maryk says or the smartest guy in the room with no in-between. 

Friedkin is known for his ability to weave in and out of genres and adapt his style to fit the film in front of him, and this is no different. The acclaimed director shows incredible power and control through restraint with the camera. There’s no flashy editing, and even cuts between characters are kept to a minimum. He keeps the camera focused on the actors, particularly the ones that find themselves at the witness stand which is brilliantly in the middle of the room, not off to one side of the judge like a typical courtroom. This placement forces each character to look out and see everyone in the room staring back at them as they justify themselves as much as they try and paint the picture of what happened that day aboard the Caine. Every thought, every mental maneuver, is shown clearly on their faces as the camera lingers to capture reactions to pressing questions from both the prosecution and defense. 

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial takes place almost entirely in the courtroom, with just a few moments bringing us out of it. The success of a rock-solid narrative carried out by a host of high-performing actors coupled with a simplistic set and production design reminds audiences that there are wonderful films out there that don’t rely on massive budgets or baffling twists to be the main selling point. A great director working alongside a proven story and trusted actors is something to behold and makes a film like this stand out against a lot of other releases coming out over the past few years. This is indeed the most straightforward legal drama of the year when compared to the breathtaking thrills of Anatomy of a Fall and The Burial’s flashier performances, yet getting one last glimpse of William Friedkin’s masterful filmmaking makes this the pick to jump to the top of the watchlist.

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial is currently available to stream on Paramount+ with Showtime. 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUpMsZrZjrc]