Test of Time

This week I rewatched the movie that really spurred my interest in law - A Few Good Men. It came out in 1992, when I was ten years old, and at the time I thought it was the coolest thing ever. So many big stars, so much awesomeness. But I wondered, after fifteen years have passed, including three years of studying political science and another three years of learning and practicing the actual law, would this movie hold up? Or would it be exposed as just another naive, contrived attempt at legal and political drama?

After rewatching it, I'm glad to say this movie still kicks ass. For someone who loves political theory and the ethical considerations that go into public service and the use of power, this movie has it all. It made me want to do criminal defense, because everyone deserves the protections and procedural safeguards of the law, even the guilty. It made me want to expose corruption, to give those who believe themselves above the law their comeuppance, and to serve my country and protect its ideals. The same values I saw back in the day were present now, and even moreso because I understood it more. This movie teaches that everyone's rights must be observed, even the weak among us. No, scratch that, especially the weak. It states that protecting democracy means protecting everyone in the democracy. Most importantly, it states that when the leaders of this country start making decisions that trample on the rights of the few under color of protecting the many, those decisions ought to be subject to review, and those leaders subject to removal where appropriate. No one is above the law, neither those that enforce it nor those that write it.

If I had read the credits closely beforehand, I should have known that this movie would stand the test of time, without even needing to see it again. Why? It was originally written as a play by Aaron Sorkin, and he wrote the screenplay based on his play. Sorkin, of course, brought us the brilliant political drama The West Wing, one of my personal favorites. To me, that show defined what public service was all about. No wonder, then, that A Few Good Men provides a similarly shining example, even fifteen years after its creation.