Man going overboard...

Rating: 5/10 (21 April 2007)

One thing it's really good to see is Humphrey Bogart showing his range and giving a truly vulnerable performance. Cynicism is usually the protective armour of a Bogie character, but in Queeg we have the opposite of a cynic - a man so obsessed with doing even trivial things by the book that his underlings decide he is no longer fit for his job. To understand and embrace routine is obviously necessary in military life, but this rigid adherence ultimately becomes a distraction from performing his necessary duties. It's a perfect showcase for how the pressure-cooker atmosphere of always living with the threat of war can make otherwise tough men crumble.
It's a subtle show from Bogart, his demonstration of illness encompassing a number of tics which get worse as he starts to unravel from being judged up there on the stand. It's a cleverly escalating portrait, and the film never feels rushed, but for me the story started to get less interesting once everybody entered the courtroom. I generally don't like legal dramas, because out of necessity the focus becomes more on the mechanics of the plot than getting to examine human personalities. This is just a personal preference, however, and if you're a person who combines an admiration for Humphrey Bogart with a passion for the technicalities of the law, then I don't see how you could go far wrong in selecting "The Caine Mutiny".