A Few Good Men is still one of my all-time favorite movies! "I want the Truth!" yells Cruise ...."You can't handle the Truth" Jack Nicholson yells back" !!!
A Few Good Men is still one of my all-time favorite movies! "I want the Truth!" yells Cruise ...."You can't handle the Truth" Jack Nicholson yells back" !!!
Y’know, I have never understood that line. Did it mean something? Or was it Nathan Jessup’s way to try to shut off answering the question? I’m guessing the latter. The truth was fairly pedestrian—nothing very special or traumatic about it.
Jessup goes on to describe the context in which he made his decision, which is the truth he thinks Cruise’s character can’t handle. It’s right in the movie, and right after that line.
I just watched the scene again. There was exactly nothing in it that supported the statement that he couldn’t “handle the truth.” Jessup just ranted about honor and duty and was trying to divert the conversation away from the question whether he had ordered the code red.
Joe, the truth according to Jessup is that he ordered the Code Red, and he was RIGHT to do it. “Santiago’s death, while tragic, probably saved lives.” That’s what he means when he says that Kaffee (and those like him) can’t handle it. It’s the moral underpinnings they can’t handle, not the actual answer to a pedestrian question.
Agreed. He could not “handle” the truth. If he could have handled the truth, he would have seen the bigger picture, that his considerable but limited prowess as a lawyer would, in the end, weaken America. Which was exactly the point of both men’s decision making process.
A Few Good Men is still one of my all-time favorite movies! "I want the Truth!" yells Cruise ...."You can't handle the Truth" Jack Nicholson yells back" !!!
Y’know, I have never understood that line. Did it mean something? Or was it Nathan Jessup’s way to try to shut off answering the question? I’m guessing the latter. The truth was fairly pedestrian—nothing very special or traumatic about it.
Jessup goes on to describe the context in which he made his decision, which is the truth he thinks Cruise’s character can’t handle. It’s right in the movie, and right after that line.
I just watched the scene again. There was exactly nothing in it that supported the statement that he couldn’t “handle the truth.” Jessup just ranted about honor and duty and was trying to divert the conversation away from the question whether he had ordered the code red.
Joe, the truth according to Jessup is that he ordered the Code Red, and he was RIGHT to do it. “Santiago’s death, while tragic, probably saved lives.” That’s what he means when he says that Kaffee (and those like him) can’t handle it. It’s the moral underpinnings they can’t handle, not the actual answer to a pedestrian question.
Agreed. He could not “handle” the truth. If he could have handled the truth, he would have seen the bigger picture, that his considerable but limited prowess as a lawyer would, in the end, weaken America. Which was exactly the point of both men’s decision making process.
“You said Grave danger?”
“Is there any other kind?”
Two different worlds, two sides of the same coin
OK—that’s the best explanation I’ve heard so far.
Thanks.
My problem is that I don’t get the “can’t handle” part. “Won’t agree with” maybe, but “can’t handle”?
As military courtroom scenes go, I’d rate Queeg’s cross-examination as far clearer than Jessup’s.
Can't face. Can't face the truth.
Or maybe it was just the sad contrast between Cruise's ability and Nicholson's?