Chapter 87: Showdown
After Al was fired, the atmosphere on the set was a bit strange. On one hand, everyone was worried that they might end up like Al, and no one wanted to lose their job. On the other hand, everyone understood that Al had brought it upon himself, and Hugo was changing people's impressions of him with his actual performance.
Therefore, the opinions of the crew towards Hugo were also mixed. Some people chose to stand in Al's so they had a worse impression of Hugo. Although they didn't speak ill of him, they completely ignored Hugo. Some people started to approach Hugo, whether it was concerning job security or because they were touched by Hugo's sincerity. Overall, their interaction with Hugo became much more harmonious. Some people became even more distant from Hugo and just wanted to stay away from the center of this conflict.
Under such circumstances, "A Few Good Men" welcomed the climax of the entire movie, which was the courtroom confrontation between Daniel and Colonel Jessep. This scene was undoubtedly a test for both actors, and the success or failure of the movie could be said to depend on the effect of this scene. If Hugo's portrayal of Daniel was not convincing or if he was completely overshadowed by Jack's portrayal of Colonel Jessep, then the effect that Rob hoped to achieve would be greatly diminished.
However, looking back at the warm-up confrontation between Hugo and Keefer during the script practice and Hugo's excellent performance during the filming process, many people had great expectations for this scene today.
Even some crew members had a private betting pool, which offered 3:1 odds that "Hugo could handle the difficult task of this scene" and 1.5:1 odds that "Hugo could not handle the difficult task of this scene". There was even a bet on "Hugo will collapse in this scene", which had 2:1 odds.
It wasn't hard to guess that most of the crew members did not have high hopes for Hugo to shine in this scene. After all, Jack Nicholson was not an ordinary opponent. As for the negative impact of Al's incident on this betting pool, it was unknown. Interestingly, more than 60% of the crew members participated in the betting pool, which showed how much they were looking forward to this scene.
Hugo put on his navy lieutenant uniform, meticulously adjusted the golden buttons, and stood in the familiar courtroom setting, steadying his breath. Joseph stood beside him, looking at Hugo. Hugo looked handsome in his uniform. His originally slightly curly hair had been shortened to a longer version of a buzz cut before the filming of the movie began. At this time, he had neatly combed them into an 80/20 parting with a strong retro aristocratic style of the 1930s, clearly showing his well-defined face. His dashing eyebrows were completely relaxed, like two scabbards inserted into his temples making Hugo look serious, upright, and handsome, two points sharper than the usual warmth-inducing look.
But Joseph's brow remained furrowed, "Hugo..."
Hugo chuckled, "Joseph, don't worry, these things won't affect me. Acting is acting, life is life, if you can't separate the two, then you're not professional enough."
Hugo knew what Joseph wanted to say. Ever since he found out about the gambling yesterday, Joseph had been restless because it seemed like the whole cast and crew were waiting to see Hugo fail. They thought that dealing with Al would make things go smoothly, but it seemed that every company in the film industry had its own small groups, and it wasn't easy for actors and the crew to get along.
"I've prepared for this scene, and too much worry won't help, right?" Hugo comforted Joseph, but he was also comforting himself because he had never dealt with this situation before and was inevitably a bit flustered. But looking at Joseph's worry, Hugo became calm. He forced himself to focus all his attention on his acting, which was the only thing he could do.
Joseph looked at the calm Hugo, then looked at the crew around them. Today's scene had almost gathered the entire cast and crew together. Everyone was hiding in places where the camera couldn't see, waiting for the show to start.
Finally, Joseph patted Hugo's shoulder and said, "Good luck."
Hugo smiled brightly, "I do need some luck at this moment." This reminded Hugo of his feelings before he took the stage at the Madi Rock Festival. Excitement mixed with nervousness, but positive emotions ultimately won because the stage ahead was his dream, and he would spread his arms and offer his warmest embrace.
Joseph turned and left. The new production assistant confirmed Hugo's makeup and Jack's condition, then nodded to Rob. The scene would start with a panoramic shot while Hugo locked his gaze on Jack. Jack's calm and composed eyes made Hugo feel uneasy for a moment, but just then, Rob's "action" command came through.
Hugo closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then Jack started his first line. Hugo quickly calmed down and delivered his first line. The most important part of the whole movie started smoothly.
"Colonel, at the time of this meeting, you gave Lt. Kendrick an order, is that right?" Hugo - or perhaps Daniel's voice - was slightly tense, but he still controlled his speech rhythm well and began in a calm manner.
"I told Kendrick to tell his men that Santiago wasn't to be touched." Colonel Jessep's voice was deep and slower than Daniel's pace, calm and powerful, with a commanding air.
"And did you give an order to Captain Markinson as well?" Daniel steadied his emotions and rhythm.
"I ordered Markinson to have Santiago transferred off the base immediately." Colonel Jessep remained steadfast in his speaking style. "I felt that his life might be in danger once word of the letter got out."
"Grave danger?" Daniel's voice seemed suppressed, slightly dull, but he maintained his pace.
"Is there another kind?" Colonel Jessep deliberately slowed his pace by a quarter beat, and his tone also changed slightly, seemingly mocking Daniel. He even raised his eyebrows, apparently not taking Daniel seriously.
However, Daniel was not moved by Colonel Jessep's provocation. He received a document from his assistant and said, "We have the transfer order that you and Markinson co-signed, ordering that Santiago be lifted on a flight leaving Guantanamo at six the next morning. Was that the first flight off the base?" Daniel's pace seemed to have accelerated slightly, but it was not obvious.
Colonel Jessep's answer was quick, apparently to show that there was no problem, and also to suppress Daniel. "The six a.m. flight was the first flight off the base."
But in the face of Colonel Jessep's answer, Daniel stood still and hesitated for a moment, as if he had doubts about the answer. But then he walked towards Colonel Jessep, who was sitting in the witness seat, and changed the subject, "Colonel, you flew up to Washington early this morning, is that right?" Daniel began to converse with Colonel Jessep in a casual manner.
Under Daniel's guidance, the two of them talked about some trivial matters, such as what was in Colonel Jessep's luggage, what preparations he had made before coming to Washington, and who he had called before leaving. These questions seemed to have nothing to do with the case and were purely Colonel Jessep's private itinerary. The prosecutor naturally objected constantly, and the judge repeatedly asked Daniel to clarify the scope of the questions. However, surprisingly, Daniel insisted that these questions must be answered, and Colonel Jessep didn't mind and answered them honestly.
After Colonel Jessep answered all the questions, Daniel took a document from his assistant and raised his voice slightly, speaking a little faster, "Your honor, these are the telephone records from GITMO for August 6th. And these are 14 letters that Santiago wrote in nine months requesting, in fact begging, for a transfer." Then he turned to Colonel Jessep and continued, "Upon hearing the news that he was finally getting his transfer, Santiago was so excited, that do you know how many people he called?"
Daniel spoke very concisely and smoothly, his speech pace was not necessarily fast, but the connection was very smooth. The situation where Colonel Jessep was slightly in the lead just now disappeared completely. Daniel completely mastered the situation in his own hands, using an ups-and-downs tone to attract everyone's attention.
"Zero! Nobody!" Daniel suddenly slowed down his speech and emphasized the weight of the words, creating doubts in everyone's minds. "Not one call to his parents saying he was coming home. Not one call to a friend saying can you pick me up at the airport. He was asleep in his bed at midnight, and according to you..." Daniel looked at Colonel Jessep, who was still sitting calmly in his chair, "He was getting on a plane in six hours, yet everything he owned was hanging neatly in his closet and folded neatly in his footlocker."
"You were leaving for one day and you packed a bag and made three phone calls" Daniel continued to look at Colonel Jessep, and the pile of seemingly useless conversations before had silently dug a huge pit, waiting for Colonel Jessep to jump in. With Daniel's fast and slow rhythm of speaking, everyone's suspense had been raised to the highest level, "Santiago was leaving for the rest of his life, and he hadn't called a soul and he hadn't packed a thing. Can you explain that?" After finishing speaking, Daniel smiled and looked at Colonel Jessep, his bright eyes like two sharp blades directly piercing his opponent.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Shallowman
Shallowman One word: damn
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