The Jacket is a twisting psychological thriller of a movie that keeps your interest thanks to the acting of Adrien Brody and a plot that is entertaining and dark.
The film, which was directed by John Maybury, features Brody as Jack Starks – a man who knows little about who he is, but is certain that he has died at least more than once.
The movie starts in 1992, where we are first introduced to Starks, a Gulf War soldier, who is shot in the head, thought dead, and later discharged with bouts of amnesia. Once released from the army, Starks is accused of murdering a police officer and sent to a mental hospital for the criminally insane.
While in the hospital, Starks undergoes an extreme form of therapy at the hands of one of his doctors, played by the great Kris Kristofferson, and finds that the treatment has a very odd side effect.
The treatment involves Starks being injected with a heavy dose of experimental drugs, placed in a straight jacket, and locked into a body drawer of the basement morgue. Once inside, Starks somehow time travels to the year 2007 where he meets Keira Knightly and discovers that he died in 1993 – four days from the time he was first placed in the jacket.
From there the movie becomes a rollercoaster ride of fast edits, weird camera angles, and a plot that is full of twist and turns. Starks, with the help of Knightly, sets out to find out how he died in 1993, and who was responsible for killing him. He also falls in love with Knightly, and confronts Kristofferson about the torture he put Starks through in the hospital.
The Jacket is a dark movie that is filled with suspense and even a couple of good jumps, but tends to get away from itself towards the end. Like most time travel movies, it has some holes in the plot, but they don’t ruin the movie. It does get confusing at times, and you have to take some parts at face values or you could possibly go insane.
Brody and Knightly do a good job in the movie, but the love story aspect takes away from the movie. The two actors also lack any real chemistry, which makes their relationship seem forced.
The Jacket is filled with twist and turns
You also have to question just why Knightly would not only pick up this stranger on the side of the street, but also be compelled to help him solve the mystery of how he died.
Again, their relationship doesn’t necessarily hurt the movie, but it does water down the plot. It was meant to add some tension to the movie, as Brody struggles to get back to Knightly, but instead becomes a bit of a distraction.<!--page-->
Main Menu screen
Another weak character in the film is Dr. Lorenson - Brody’s “good” doctor that is played by Jennifer Jason Leigh. Brody discovers that she is treating a friend’s son and that only he knows how to solve the boy’s problem. He knows this thanks to his travels to 2007, but has to discover a way to make Leigh believe him.Leigh does a good job in the role, but you have to question why she is treating this kid at home. Also, you find yourself questioning if she would be able to do the experiment that eventually cures the boy.
In the long run, none of the films problems or holes takes away from a pretty decent thriller that has a unique look to it. I really enjoyed The Jacket, and thought it was pretty original even with a time traveling device.
Like in the Pianist, Brody does an excellent job as a man trying to figure out how he can stay alive with death knocking on his doorstep. Whenever he is in the jacket, the movie builds tension through Brody’s simple hand movements or facial features.
I was a little let down by the movie’s ending, but the ending does make sense thanks to Brody’s narration and reminder of some things he said at the beginning of the film.
Special Features screen
The DVD is somewhat scarce on special features consisting of a looking at the making of The Jacket that includes some deleted scenes. There is also a look at the special effects that went into the movie.
The Jacket is a movie that I would recommend to anyone that wants to watch a pretty solid thriller that has some good twist. It has some problems, and you really have to pay attention to what is happening on the screen. The attention the film demands is paid off through solid performances of the film’s cast and some really good filming by the director.
The Jacket is available for pre-order at Amazon and will be released on June 21. Visit the film’s database for more information.
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