Markinson Film Analysis

In the book Markinson’s beneficial documents are left outside of Kaffee’s door in an envelope. Markinson and Kaffee did not have an unexpected get together where the superior officer discloses the private information. Instead, all of the information was presented in written format. The contents of the envelope revealed that “Jessep had no intention of transferring Private Santiago off the base. The transfer order you secured was written the morning of your arrival, six days after Private Santiago’s death. Jessep’s claim that the 0600 flight was the first available transportation off the base is a lie. I’ve enclosed the two Tower Chief’s logs. The letter’s typed and there’s no signature. The log books are photocopies.”p86 Markinson writes a suicide letter addressing the parents of the deceased marine. Then he took his own life by the aid of a pistol while fully dressed in uniform. In the film the scenario begins when Kaffee gets into his vehicle. As he makes his way into the car, the film transitions to the next scene where the camera is now …show more content…
There were a series of scenes in particular that stood out to me the most. These particular scenes were when Markinson took his own life. It begins with Markinson’s uniform laid out on a bed. The suicide letter is read in the background while it shows Markinson putting on the uniform. Mournful music accompanies the spoken words while the official continues to dress. While dressed in full garb, Markinson takes out his silver plated pistol from the holster and places it in his mouth before pulling the trigger. A gunshot is heard while the camera is redirected to view a window which has rain trickling down. I felt as though this was one of the most powerful portions of the film. The Marine was so deeply grief stricken with guilt that he took his own