The Jacket is a hard film to describe or categorize. They promoted it as a horror film with taglines like "Terror has a new name" which it definitely is not, it feels like a thriller through most of it, and still has time to throw in a love story and even a good dose of science fiction. So what the hell is it? Well it's somewhere between a psychological thriller and sci-fi so I'm going to make my own new genre and call it a psychological science thriller. How about that?!?!!?
In The Jacket we are immediately thrown into the Gulf War in 1991 as our main character Jack Starks (Brody) is shot in the head. He soon after dies, but then comes back to life seconds later. We are then suddenly shot forward 12 months as Jack is walking on a road in the cold Vermont winter weather. Jack hitches a ride with a young man and shortly after they are pulled over by a cop. The edgy young man shoots the cop and Jack is accidentally shot in the head once again. When he awakes he has little recollection of the previous events and finds himself being charged with the cop's murder. He is found not guilty due to insanity and committed.
Now locked in a mental institution Jack is forced to undergo a unique treatment being performed by Dr. Becker (Kristofferson). This experiment involves a straight-jacket, psychological drugs, and a cozy little morgue drawer. For reasons that are never explained EVER, while in the jacket, Starks is able to transport into the future. Here he meets up with Jackie (Knightley) who he met when she was a child the day of the cop's murder. Together they try to figure out why he is there in the future, how he dies in the past and develop a love for each other.
First, the acting in the movie is as expected, quite good. With a cast including Adrien Brody, Kris Kristofferson, Kiera Knightley, and Jennifer Jason Leigh you wouldn't expect anything less. Knightley's performance is also notable as she shows a new range of her persona playing a much darker and real role than in her previous films.
I think the main drawback to the film is the storyline. I'll give writers Tom Bleecker and Marc Rocco a lot of credit because I certainly couldn't think up a story as messed up and unconventional as this. However they might have had too many ideas that they wanted to incorporate in The Jacket and it seems they forgot that they may have to explain a bit as to why things happen the way they do. That's the main issue with The Jacket, there is little explanation as to why any of the things happen. Suspend your disbelief and don't ask 'why' too much and you'll be fine, but that's not me and it's a bit of a disappointment that with a storyline with so much potential, it is slightly ruined by the lack of explanation.
That aside director John Maybury did a nice job working with the storyline and used some nice up-close shots of Brody in the morgue drawer to create a disturbing, claustrophobic feeling. Also the makeup work on Brody's eyes and over all physique gave the appearance of a distressed soul.
Overall I think The Jacket is going to be a bit of a toss-up for anyone who watches it. If you liked The Butterfly Effect or Memento you're probably going to like The Jacket. However if you're an active movie viewer who is always thinking about the plot and story like myself you will undoubtedly see the holes in the story. Either way I think it's worth a rent at the very least.
"The Jacket" opens March 4, 2005 and is rated R. Drama, Thriller. Directed by John Maybury. Written by Tom Bleecker, Marc Rocco. Starring Adrien Brody, Daniel Craig, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Keira Knightley, Kris Kristofferson, Brad Renfro.
