Customer Reviews

A Few Good Men

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With a Few Good Men, Aaron Sorkin keeps his readers turning the page. The story of two United States Marines charged and accused of murder unfolds in the hands of the protagonist but the excitement never yields until the closing scene. The main characters in the novel work together to solve the case and prove Dawson and Downey's innocence. Sorkin gives them trouble by the antagonists being directly involved with the case. There is much conflict that repeats throughout the play. Aaron Sorkin writes in perfect vernacular with respect to military affairs. He is accurate in describing the way that all United States Marines and Navy commanders would speak in and out of proper uniform. For one example,Sorkin writes, " Sir, yes sir". He concludes many confrontations with this term because simply this is the way things run in the Navy. Also, the way that Sorkin describes the characters can create mental pictures of the way they stand and speak. His knack for great detail is an asset to the enjoyment of the play. Because this is a play, there is not much description but the writing that does include stage direction and scene change does accurately do so. The characters in the story need eachother to stay strong. Kaffee struggles with the loss of his father, years ago. He feels he is obligated to live up to his father's nearly infallible reptuation. In the beginning, JO and Kaffee do not take eachother seriously, but she is there pushing him through it in the end when he thinks he's failed. Weinberg is an asset to the investigation, yet he is pessimistic throughout the play as a defense attorney. The play in itself is great and it would make a great movie (which it did). I believe that if it had been written as a novel, the value of the writing would be far greater. But, because it was a screenplay, it had not had enough room for elaborate description. On the other hand, the dialect is intense and incredible.

By now, everyone with an open eye knows about Aaron Sorkin, if not for his record breaking and brilliant work on "The West Wing" then for "Sports Night" or, my favorite, "Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip." But these are all television and granted they represent the best of television for the past 20 years,
AAron Sorkin started out as a playwrite and his big break through was with the two act play "A Few Good Man" which was later turned into a film. EVERYONE remembers Jack Nicholson, on the witness stand, in his Colonel Best Dress, pushed to the edge by Tom Cruise, screaming, "You Can't Handle the Truth!" This line is now an American cloiche. I don't know about the rest of America but "A Few Good Men" is what made me aware of Gitmo and caused me to look into it so that when, under the reign of President Bush II, when it became famous as a war camp for terrorist possibles, we already knew what we were dealing with. I'd direct this play this summer, except it has only one female role in it. in many ways, "A Few Good Men" is remarkably important to American culture and counter-culture.

It began in this small script and we see the brilliance of how he constructed this highly complicated story and told it on a small stage without ONE SINGLE VISIBLE SET CHANGE ever. Some of you won't appreciate that, but trust me, in regard to writing, it's brilliant.

If you liked any of the things I mention above (or his other films, "An American President" and "Charile Wilson's War" to nbame just a few) then buy this script; and buy the Samuel French version so that you see exactly what the original cast and staff were working from. By the time you're on page six you will see it all in your head, you will have forgotten that this isn't real people talking. Sorkin's ability to write dialogue is like listening to a duet by Steve Sondheim. It comes from brilliance, praqctice, and the pressure of a deadline.

Aaron Sorkin is today's William Shakespeare. See if you can get his autograph while you can. He's three years younger than I am- a mere 46. i can't wait to see what's ahead. I hear rumpors of "Follies", speaking of Steve Sondheim.

I consider this book as one of the best I have ever read. It is fascinating, thrilling and you can`t lay it down until you`ve finished it. I pay a great deal of respect to the author Aaron Sorkin.

I just could not get into this book. It seemed to be written by a military man for a military man/woman to read! Maybe it was just me but I just couldn't get into the book version of this story. I decided to watch the movie when it came to the big screen just to see if it was as frustrating as the book. As it turned out, it was one of the best movies I've ever seen. If you enjoy reading military type books with a lot of military type talk then this really is a book for you. Personally, I plan on sticking to the straight talk, everyday kind of books I'm used to.