The General's Daughter (1999)
Madeleine Stowe: Sara Sunhill
Photos
Quotes
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[Brenner finds out from Elby that Elisabeth Campbell isn't close to her father General Campbell]
Sunhill : What about the General and Captain Campbell? Were they close?
Capt. Jake Elby : No.
Brenner : Why not?
Capt. Jake Elby : I don't know. You like your dad?
Brenner : My dad was a drunk, a gambler, and a womanizer. I worshipped him.
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[Brenner asks Sunhill about her marriage status]
Brenner : So... Did you ever marry, uh... Major what's-his-name with a gun?
Sunhill : Yes, I did.
Brenner : Oh... Congratulations. I'm extremely happy for you, Sarah. And I wish you both the best that life has to offer .
Sunhill : I filed for divorce.
Brenner : Good.
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[Brenner and Sunhill sit at a bar with other military uniformed men]
Sunhill : I thought you hated places like this.
Brenner : I do. However the murderer may be in this room, sitting all smug and shiny... until we walked in. And now maybe he's a little less smug and a little less shiny. And that's pretty cool, don't you think?
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[Brenner and Sunhill go through Elisabeth Campbell's bathroom supplies]
Sunhill : Well, she wasn't a hypochondriac. She didn't dye her hair, she didn't have oily skin, and she keeps her method of birth control somewhere else.
Brenner : Well, or perhaps she required her men to wear condoms. Maybe you've heard that condoms are in fashion again because of disease. Nowadays you have to boil people before you can sleep with them. Care for a bath?
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[Sunhill questions Captain Bransford's alibi for Elisabeth Campbell's rape at West Point]
Sunhill : Well, I only have just one question. How scared are you right now?
Capt. Bransford : [Bransford smiles] I'm sorry, Miss Sunhill. Is it possible that you're in the wrong place?
Sunhill : Your heart's racing a little faster, there's a little ball in your throat, it's sticky under the arms.
Capt. Bransford : [Bransford stands up] Okay, I think that's enough.
Sunhill : You can sit your ass back down.
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[Colonel Kent reveals his motive for killing Elisabeth Campbell]
Sunhill : Why'd you do it?
Kent : Why? Well, you tell me. You're the expert.
Sunhill : I think this was a woman giving it out all over the post, and the one man who cared about her, the one who's willing to risk it all for her, is the person she doesn't want. And that's because she couldn't want anybody.
Kent : [Kent takes off his hat as it starts to rain] See, I just wanted to be with her forever. She owned my heart. She tormented me. She became my obsession. So I followed her and found her on the range... on display.
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[Brenner and Sunhill argue about their problems from their previous fling together]
Brenner : You know let's just talk about this next week, ok?
Sunhill : Fine. Just one more thing.
Brenner : Is this next week already?
Sunhill : You are such a goddamn sharp detective, aren't you? But you sure can't read yourself, and you sure as hell don't know a thing about women.
Brenner : You know... you're very cute when I'm mad at you. However... if you'll excuse me, I'll take my anger out on someone else.
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[Brenner confronts Colonel Kent after finding out he's the murderer]
Brenner : [Brenner stands at a distance] I think the three of us need to go back to your office and talk.
Kent : I've always been an outdoorsy kind of guy. Why don't we talk here? That is if we have anything really important to talk about. I thought you'd do your job. Pin it on Moore, and move the fuck on.
Sunhill : Oh, God.
Kent : But I forgot you were the nastiest rat in the shithouse. Just goes to show you.
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[Brenner and Sunhill arrive at General Campbell's home]
Brenner : Hello, we're here to see the General. Warrant Officer Paul Brenner. Sarah Sunhill.
Capt. Jake Elby : Oh, yes. I'm Captain Elby, the General's Aide. Colonel Fowler the General's Adjutant will take you in. Please wait right here.
Sunhill : [Elby leaves the door open and goes to get Colonel Fowler] He's cute.
Brenner : Oh, please. He probably practices his salute in the mirror for hour...
Col. George Fowler : [Brenner clears his throat as Colonel Fowler approaches from behind the door] Please, come in. And thank you for coming.
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[Kent asks Sunhill where she was when Elisabeth Campbell was killed]
Sunhill : Uh, I went to the V.O.Q. at 1900 hours. I worked on my Neely case report till about midnight, and then I went home. No witnesses.
Kent : Pathetic, the both of you.
Brenner : Oh, you should have invited me into your room, and we would have had an alibi.
Sunhill : I would rather be a murder suspect.
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[Sunhill breaks down the crime scene of Elisabeth Campbell]
Sunhill : He set up a rape kit, tent pegs, and ropes, and he used it.
Brenner : Yeah.
Sunhill : [Sunhill takes the blanket off to look at Campbell's naked corpse] Well, there are no signs of a struggle. She was a strong woman. And I couldn't find a bit of dirt under her fingernails. And how did he hold a gun on her and manage to tie the ropes? Unless it was more than one person.
Brenner : What are those marks on her cheeks?
Sunhill : Those were tears, Paul.
Sunhill : [Paul sighs walking off] The panties under the rope, as if to protect the neck from a burn. I mean, what's a little rope burn if you're going to kill somebody?
Cal Seivers : [Cal turns to Brenner] Sunhill's good.
Brenner : Oh, yeah. Sunhill has spoken.
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[Sunhill thanks Captain Bransford for his cooperation with Elisabeth Campbell's underwear]
Sunhill : [Sunhill holds the bag of underwear] Thank you very much, Captain, for your cooperation. Someone from CID will be in touch.
Capt. Bransford : [Sunhill stands up, throwing the bag of underwear in the trash next to them] What are you doing?
Sunhill : What does it look like?
Capt. Bransford : What-What about the DNA?
Sunhill : [Sunhill scoffs before smiling] What DNA? I bought those an hour ago. So long, honey.
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[Brenner guides Sunhill through the mud of a minefield]
Brenner : Backtrack the way you came.
Kent : You know, it's amazing what a load of shrapnel will do to flesh and bone.
Brenner : Sarah, you're fine.
Sunhill : God.
Kent : [Kent screams to Sunhill] Boom! Scared you, didn't I?
Sunhill : You're an asshole, Kent!
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[Sunhill and Brenner watch a tape of one of Elisabeth Campbell's teachings]
Capt. Elisabeth Campbell : [the tape plays] Our job here at Psy Ops is to panic the enemy, to blunt his will to fight. A Psy Operator must know the customs and habits of the enemy, the current dissensions, anxieties, and fears to determine vulnerability. To engage the enemy, you must know the enemy inside out. You must fill him with fear, and not just fear of dying. Fear of grotesque wounds is much more terrifying.
Sunhill : [Sunhill stops the tape] Ugh. Grotesque wounds.
Brenner : [Brenner smiles] I'll show you mine if you show me yours.
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[Brenner gets rid of Chief Yardley who keeps hanging around]
Police Chief Yardley : You got a shitload of explaining to do, son.
Brenner : May I ask what your official business is here.
Police Chief Yardley : My official business here, son, is to ask you why there's a bunch of MP's hauling furniture out of an off-post residence that belongs to a murder victim.
Brenner : The family of the deceased Chief Yardley asked me to take charge of those items and transport them here. Sunhill, remind me to call General Campbell and suggest that I take charge of those items and transport them here.
Sunhill : [Sunhill responds] You got it.
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[Brenner and Sunhill learn the story of what happened to Elisabeth Campbell at West Point]
Col. Donald Slesinger : [Colonel Slesinger recalls Campbell's sophomore night] At the end of her sophomore year, there was a big night exercise. Must've been thousands involved. Lizzie got separated from her group. Found herself with about half a dozen men. A very dark night. Not only were the men unknown to her... but they were also wearing camouflage. They raped her almost to death. Raped her all night long. Taking turns. Stripped her... spread-eagled her... nailed her to the Earth with tent pegs. Just had a whale of a time. Threatened to kill her if she talked.
Sunhill : Tied her underwear around her throat?
Col. Donald Slesinger : Yes. Lizzie was hospitalized, treated for venereal disease, treated for pregnancy. By the time I got to her, she had gone way inside. Never let me get close.
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[Bransford sits down as Sunhill continues to accuse Bransford of the Elisabeth Campbell rape]
Sunhill : I know you weren't the leader.
Capt. Bransford : If you say so, Miss Sunhill. But I really do not know what in the world you're referring to.
Sunhill : You're too weak to have started it. You're just a guy who's gotten by on his smile and his charm. It's a good smile, but you could never lead a rape.
Capt. Bransford : Well, that sure is good to know.
Sunhill : Elisabeth Campbell was murdered 36 hours ago. Staked out with tent pegs and strangled. So I'm going to ask you my question again, Captain Bransford. How scared are you right now?
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[Sunhill shows Captain Bransford an evidence bag of women's underwear]
Sunhill : Amazing scientific changes in the last few years, Captain, wouldn't you agree?
Capt. Bransford : I wouldn't know.
Sunhill : In certain fields, it's been incredible.
Capt. Bransford : If you say so.
Sunhill : Like DNA... If it's there, it's there forever. But then you probably already knew that.
Capt. Bransford : [Bransford looks back at the underwear] Those are hers aren't they?
Capt. Bransford : [Bransford gets silent before staring up at Sunhill, then opening up to tell her the truth of the rape at West Point] I tried to stop it. I did everything I could, but they hated her. They hated her so much. They hated that she was smarter than them, they hated being out there with someone who had to squat to piss. I tried to save her. I did everything I could, but I couldn't make them stop!
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[Brenner and Sunhill talk about their suspect list growing]
Brenner : How does it feel to have our suspect list multiply exponentially?
Sunhill : Well, at least we know who the guys were on the tapes.
Brenner : Yeah. A bunch of creeps willing to risk it all for a piece of patch.
Sunhill : A piece of patch?
Brenner : Sorry, darling. I just get back on the base, and it drudges up all my old alpha male behavior.
