THE JACKET (***)
A gulf war veteran returns to the U.S. after surviving a fatal head wound, and after a surreal series of events, finds himself in an even stranger mental institution. Its chief doctor treats his supposed psychosis with a straightjacket and morgue drawer. But that’s not the strangest piece of what happens to Jack Starks (Adrien Brody of THE PIANIST). What is is what he finds in his dark prison, and where it brings him.
Such is the storyline behind THE JACKET, a movie that baffles me with its marketing strategy. Though it is advertised as a thriller, it really has no intention to scare. It’s an intriguing science fiction mystery dipped in darkness, desolation, and anxiety. But it also has just a hint of romance, saving itself from its own bleak ambiance. Think of it as a fully realized TWIGHLIGHT ZONE episode, like a cross between TWELVE MONKEYS and SOMEWHERE IN TIME. Though that may seem like a bad proposition, its better than it sounds.
Back to the story. While Jack Starks is confined, he discovers that he is able to project his consciousness through time, finding himself sifting through past events, and existing in the fullest sense in the future. He realizes this during one of his “trips,” after he befriends Jackie Price (Keira Knightley), a young woman he had met long before his commitment.
After telling Jackie who he is, with the expected disbelief and reassurance, Jack discovers something else, and with her help, he oscillates between his two existences trying to set things right. A movie such as this is difficult to opine on, since noting its special qualities entails revealing too much for those who wish to see it. All you need to know dear reader is that his dilemma involves two doctors: The cold Dr. Thomas Becker (Kris Kristofferson), and the weary Dr. Lorenson (Jennifer Jason Leigh).
Many SF fans might scoff at the movie’s underlying time travel premise, where Jack’s thoughts propel him 15 years into the future. But it’s not so much the film’s believability that makes it absorbing, but of Jack’s undeserved travails. The film asks us to ride on its “what if” possibilities, and see where Jack ends up. It isn’t concerned with how Jack is able to do what he does, but with what he does with his abilities to free himself from his yoke.
To say that his suffering is hard to bear is like saying Manila in monsoon time is moist. He gets shot, rejected, wrongly convicted, drugged, distrusted, and locked away in what is basically a tomb. Dr. Becker’s methods are so wrong, that you wonder if any of his staff have any common sense to call the authorities. When he orders Jack to be sedated without warning, strapped into a straightjacket in uncompromising positions, and confined in darkness for hours, you know that he’s more insane than his patient.
Jack isn’t the only character abounded by gloom. Dr. Lorenson looks as if she’s one of her own patients, worn and jaded about what she does and whether she helps anyone. Jackie, though beautiful, looks as if she’s teetering on the verge of breakdown. She is lonely and guilt-ridden ever since her mother died, and helping Jack, who has a lot more to worry about, is the only thing that uplifts her. Rudy Mackenzie (Daniel Craig), a fellow patient, is the resident nut job, nervous tics and all. And Dr. Becker, though dispassionate, seems to have inner demons of his own. For most of its running time, the movie is dim and desolate, with stylistic flourishes, jolts, and imagery that would make Christopher Nolan (INSOMNIA) and David Fincher (SE7EN) proud.
The film is invariably tied to Adrien Brody, an actor who conveys moroseness and suffering with the best of them. Though he mostly wallows in pain and confusion, he also conveys depth and reserve, knowing the right times when to show his distress and when to rein it in, sometimes holding a line just before it snaps. Keira Knightley, who seems to be the most beautiful young actress anywhere right now, isn’t as effective. Her American accent is labored at times, and is distracting. Her efforts are laudable, as she does her best to reach beyond what her looks can bring her, but her performance is a bit mannered. Kris Kristofferson is one of those actors who uses his gruff voice and looks to convey a seen-it-all gravitas as good as anyone. His facial features accentuate the film's laden feel.
Though I have made the movie sound hopelessly depressing, its burdens get lighter past its halfway point. As we find out what Jack needs to do, we root for his salvation. Like FREQUENCY, SOMEWHERE IN TIME, and even GROUNDHOG DAY, it is a time travel movie that is mostly unconcerned with the workings or different eras. It cares more for the characters who happen to be wrapped up in them. At the end of it all, I didn’t care whether a mind could send me to the future, but if Jack and Jackie would make it. Didn’t I say the movie gets lighter as it goes along?
Posted by FLIPCRITIC at April 22, 2005 03:22 PM