The Clothes Make the Man

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Watch the clip above from 6:56 to 7:26
The full movie is available at crackle.com or at netflix.com, full film times are listed in the text.


Rob Reiner’s A Few Good Men (1992) is a film that has many different ideas of what a “good man” is. Each does good in their own way, and some do bad things in an attempt to be “good men.” Lt. Colonel Markinson’s guilt over not being a good man and instead remaining true to the uniform he wore, leads him to commit suicide in a scene that is both poignant and telling of the man he had become. In a film full of duty and honor and following the “code” of the Marines and whether or not that was a “good” thing to do, Markinson chose to kill himself in his full dress uniform. The shots leading up to Markinson’s death highlight his place in the film as the character who wavers between the honor of the uniform and the moral standards of today’s society and they do this using montage and lighting.

The scene begins at 1:39:08 of screen time and shot one is a pan down of all the pieces of the uniform laid out on the bed. They are placed almost in the order of how they would be placed on a person, as the camera pans down we see in this order: the jacket, the gloves on the jacket, the shirt, the belt and the pants. There is no reason for him to have laid them out in this way, perfectly set out, so this shot is a set up of what is to come, the pieces that we don’t see him put on. The lighting in this shot is interesting in that it imitates the rain from the thunderstorm outside. We never see the actual rain, but we can see the shadows of the raindrops on the bed. There is a flash of lightning and then the camera starts panning down the bed. The thunderstorm carries on outside throughout the whole scene, adding to the soundtrack and the mood of the scene.

Shot two is a pan up of him buttoning his jacket; the camera is in very close so that only the button he is buttoning and his hands are visible as the camera pans up on the three buttons. The lighting is pretty unremarkable in that the shadow of the rain isn’t really visible as the shot is very short and close up to the jacket.

Shot three is of his belt being put into place, and again only the buckle and his hands are visible. This shot is essentially the same as the previous shot as far as lighting and distance to the object, as well as the lack of background visible.

Shot four is him tying his shoes, again, only the hands and his shoes are really visible and the background is blurry, so the focus is on the shoes. This is a wider shot than the previous two and the shadows of the raindrops are very visible on the white carpet his feet are on.

Shot five is a longer shot of Markinson pulling the sword out of its holder. The camera follows the hilt for a few seconds and then holds steady to get the image of the sword sliding past the camera. The rainstorm is visible on his hands and the sword.

Shot six is a quick shot of him hooking the sword onto his belt. Although this shot is close-up like shots two and three, the rain is very visible on his hands and around the sword; it becomes more and more noticeable as the shots go on.

Shot seven is of his hand as he snaps his glove on and then flexes his hand several times as though he is testing the fit of them, as if he is getting ready to go somewhere other than to his death. The rain is visible against the wall in the background, and it is becoming more distinct, not just soft shadows that are barely visible.

Shot eight is of his hat sitting on the table and his hand comes in to pick it up. The rain is very visible in this shot as the window is behind the table, and though it is covered, the rain is visibly falling behind the curtain.

Shot nine is finally a full-body shot of Markinson standing in front of a mirror placing his hat on his head. He takes a look at himself, now fully in uniform and then takes a breath, preparing himself for what is next. The rain at this point looks like it could be inside the room, it takes up a lot of the frame and it is falling in sheets that are very noticeable against the white walls. It is also reflected in the mirror so that Markinson is literally surrounded by rain in this shot. The mirror is very interesting in this shot, as we see Markinson for the first time in this sequence, we see him as he see himself in the mirror. The first and last time we gain insight into this mysterious man. The sequence ends at 1:39:40 of screen time.

Montage is a filmmaking tool that can convey a lot of meaning in a short period of time. In­­­­ his article, “Beyond the Shot,” Sergei Eisenstein says montage is, "juxtaposing representational shots that have, as far as possible, the same meaning, that are neutral in terms of their meaning, in meaningful contexts and series" (15). This is just what has occurred in the first eight shots, the shots have basically the same meaning, they are all just showing parts of the uniform, but when put together as they are they indicate something larger, the significance of the uniform, not just the uniform as clothing. It is telling that the montage of scenes that precede Markinson’s death focuses on the different parts of the uniform and not on his face. What we see is not the mundane view of watching a man get dressed in clothes, in fact that happens off camera in a moment we do not see. What is visible to us are the accessories of the uniform, the pieces that we see are not the basic parts of clothes, i.e. pants and shirt, but instead all the things that make the uniform unique, the gloves, the sword, the hat, etc.

The film is about finding out exactly what honor is, and whether the uniform brings honor. For his part, Markinson follows his orders to the letter, and it brings him a large amount of guilt, because it goes against the law, a theme the movie explores in many ways. This feeling of guilt comes across in the montage not as an image, but as the voiceover of a letter Markinson wrote to the parents of a dead Marine, apologizing for his part in the cover-up. It is not a suicide note, but it explains his feelings and reasons for committing suicide. This voiceover is the only indication of who is in the shots, as his face is never visible. Markinson’s identity is wrapped up in the uniform and once he admits that there are flaws and moral contradictions that occur when wearing the uniform, he does what he thinks is necessary to remove himself from that. However, because his identity is so wrapped up in the uniform and the formality of it, he essentially has to kill the uniform. The montage highlights this need, as it could just as easily be a montage of his face as he writes the letter; instead, it is all the pieces of the uniform that make up the dress of a Lieutenant Colonel of the Marine Corp.

The storm that is occurring during this scene indicates the mood behind the scene. The storm is portrayed mainly through lighting, which is minimal, but effective. The film usually takes place at night or during a sunny day, so this is the only time a storm occurs. This takes place during a part of the film where the main characters are losing the legal battle they are engaged in. The thunderstorm highlights the mood, and provides an excellent background for Markinson’s suicide. The rain is visible in almost all nine shots and the thunderstorm is heard under the voiceover, so it is impossible not to feel the depressing mood that is being imposed. The rain that is visible in the scene builds throughout the shots of the montage. It is visible in shot one, and attention is drawn to it because of the initial flash of lightning at the beginning of the shot, and then it is very faint in shots two and three, but it becomes progressively more and more obvious as the shots continue on until it is impossible to ignore in shot nine with Markinson in front of the mirror. The effect of the shadows of the moving rain is interesting in that different parts of the uniform are either lighter or darker, and this changes as the rain falls. The shadows in effect are moving and this interplay between dark and light is indicative of the struggle that is within Markinson and the entire film. The ambiguity of darkness and light in this scene is a perfect representation of Markinson’s life and part in the film. He is the only one who wavers between the uniform and the moral codes it often contradicts. The lighting of the rainstorm only serves to highlight this dilemma.

These nine shots of the uniform and the man who inhabits it show the struggle between the uniform and the man, a struggle that the man ultimately loses. The montage of shots show just how much the uniform has taken over, the only humanity visible is Markinson’s hands as he dresses and the lighting shows this struggle using the moving shadows of the rain to show the constant shifting between light and dark.

Quote from: Braudy, Leo and Marshall Cohen, ed. Film Theory and Criticism. “Beyond the Shot.” Sergei Eisenstein. Oxford University Press, 2009.