The befuddling, slightly go-ahead Jacket
sunk at the U.S box office – if only because the film was
marketed as something it wasn’t. To the studios merit though,
it’s a hard one to box and an even harder product to sell. Even
the art-house crowds that should’ve probably been beleaguered
with the publicity – and not the popcorn-chewing teenagers
– will probably be hitting their high school science notes upon
exit for the answer to this ambitious tale. Unlike the titular attire
of clothing, which is usually bought with size in mind, not everything
here quite fits. You don’t want to put The Jacket
back on the rack though – there’s enough here to keep the
thread from running, and with such an inoculation of imagination
injected, it’s hard to take your eyes off it. As obscure as it
is, it might just be the most original film of the year. Academy Award Winner Adrien Brody [The Pianist]
plays another multi-layered character in Jack Starks, a former Gulf-War
soldier who’s arrested for a murder he can’t remember
committing, and consequently left to waste away in a mental hospital. Whilst
other patients might be left to just sit by a window and drool, Starks
is being whisked away at various times throughout the day to wear a
straight jacket and sit it out in a morgue drawer. Once he’s in
there – and stops screaming for dear life – Starks realizes
that he’s able to aggressively survey his memories, ultimately
giving him the ability to travel forward to the year 2007, and the
chance to change his present situation with his knowledge of the
future. Yep, all whilst still being in the morgue drawer. Brody
is solid in the movie, at his best when playing the scared witless chap
of the time-travelling morgue drawer. On the other hand, English beauty
Keira Knightley, playing a young woman the time-travelling Starks meets
in 2007 only to discover that they’ve actually crossed paths
before, proves she may just be looks and legs after all, dishing out a
performance that’s stilted, scattered and all the more painful to
watch because of a wonky American accent. Better are Kris Kristofferson
(almost unrecognisable in the scenes set in 1992, where his trademark
grey curls and mane are dyed tar black) and Jennifer Jason Leigh,
playing the shady doctor in charge of the hushed experiments, and
medical cohort, respectively. The star of the movie is the idea
though – and for the most part, it works. There’s some good
ideas at play here, even if they do come off a little undercooked at
times. It doesn’t help that the film barely pushes an hour and a
half either, it really needed an extra half an hour to join a few more
dots – instead of leaving the audience scratching their head so
much that chunks of dandruff pour into their popcorn – and excise
the pinkness from the mutton. After the colossal failure of the similarly themed Butterfly Effect,
it’d be interesting to know why the filmmakers thought this one
would work. It swims in the same pool, if only not as far up the deep
end. Bottom line, it was never going to make a mint at the multiplexes
anyway. So, why? The Jacket won’t fit everyone, but if you can wear it, it’s a fresh, fun science-lesson for the noggin.
EXTRAS
Not surprisingly - considering it only did so so business at the B.O - there's only a couple of extras on the disc.
Director
John Maybury guides you through the film's timeline of conception -
quite interesting, especially because it sounds like he's referring to
an entirely different flick. There's also a few deleted scenes
(the most unappealing extra on a disc these days, I believe) and a
featurette that concentrates on the film's technical effects. Nothing
special, but better than a slap in the face with a cold chicken strip.
Conclusion:
Movie 70% Extras: 50%
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