When U.S. Navy Commander Queeg shows potential signs of mental instability that jeopardizes the safety of his ship, USS Caine, in a violent storm, the executive officer, Lt. Maryk, relieves him of command; Maryk now faces court-martial for mutiny. Lt. Greenwald, a skeptical JAG lawyer, is made to defend Maryk. During the cross-examination the personality and actions of Queeg raise the question of who should be court-martialled.[6]
Cast
Kiefer Sutherland as Lieutenant Commander Queeg, commanding officer of USS Caine.
Jason Clarke as Lieutenant Greenwald, defense attorney
Denzel Johnson as Prosecution Paralegal J. P. Simmons
Production
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial is a film that I have long awaited to make, originally written by one of the masters of his time, Herman Wouk. I knew that I wanted to create a highly tense, pressurized scenario which would move rapidly along like a bat out of hell. I intentionally chose to keep the issue of right and wrong as ambiguous as possible. I was consistently impressed with the level of expertise that our actors brought to their roles and I believe that these are some of the best performances I have ever seen.
In September 2021, William Friedkin announced plans to develop an adaptation of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial and that he was beginning the process of casting the film.[7] The following year, in August, Deadline Hollywood officially reported that a new adaptation of Herman Wouk's novel The Caine Mutiny directed by Friedkin was in the works for Paramount Global Content Distribution and Showtime Networks. Kiefer Sutherland was announced to star, with Friedkin having altered Wouk's script himself to reflect a more modern timeline, setting it in the Persian Gulf, as opposed to the original's World War II setting.[8] Principal photography began presumably in January 2023[8][9] and was completed sometime before star Lance Reddick's death in March.[10] In the wake of his death, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro posted a tweet, praising the actor's performance in the film.[11]
Del Toro himself served as back-up director on the film for liability reasons, due to Friedkin's age,[12] and had sat beside him every day during the shoot.[13] Since the production had been operating on a tight schedule, Friedkin expected that everyone come to the set prepared so as to avoid doing any retakes. According to del Toro, rather than scold a particular actor who stumbled over a crucial line several times, Friedkin instead asked, "You wanna do it in an hour or so? Or we pick it up tomorrow?":
"The gesture was healing, soothing and put the entire set back in control. I had seen, at the ripe age of 58, that of th[e] many tools in Billy's arsenal, kindness was one of the most effective ones."[14]
Release
In March 2023, Paramount Global Content Distribution revived Republic Pictures, with The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial announced as one of its first acquisitions.[15]The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial had its world premiere on September 3, 2023 at the 80th Venice International Film Festival where it screened out of competition.[2][6] Upon its release, Paramount+ announced it will premiere the film in all international markets where the service is available.[16] The film was released on October 6, 2023 on Paramount+ with Showtime followed by a linear release on Showtime on October 8.[5]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 95% of 55 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "The final film from a master of the medium, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial serves as a gripping reminder that a single setting, a solid cast, and some sharply written dialogue is sometimes all you need."[17]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 71 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[18]
Pete Hammond, in his review for Deadline Hollywood, wrote that the film is "solid and no-frills".[19]
