Adrien Brody plays Jack Sparks, a veteran of the first Gulf War who survives a shot to the head and returns home to travel around America in the early 90s. But a run of bad luck sees him convicted of a murder he did not commit (and can't remember, thanks to that pesky head injury), and he is sent to an insane asylum.
There a sadistic doctor (played menacingly by Kris Kristofferson) forces him to undergo a horrific treatment that involves being locked in a straight jacket and placed in a cadaver drawer for hours at a time.
But while in the drawer, Sparks finds he can inexplicably will himself fifteen or so years into the future (our near future) where he encounters waitress Jackie Price (Keira Knightley), who is the grown up version of a little girl he met (and helped) just before the murder, and who could've exonerated him at the time. Confused yet? We're just getting started.
The Jacket has an undeniably interesting premise, and several fine performances, but the execution of its complex story is ultimately frustrating. There are thrills to be had in this movie, and emotions to be felt, but they are surrounding by moments of extreme hair-pulling dissatisfaction and bewilderment.
A story like this can benefit from ambiguity (like say, Twelve Monkeys or Jacob's Ladder, which are two clear influences), but this film is ambiguous when it needs to be concise, maddening when it should be illuminating.
Director John Maybury appears to take a lot of stylistic inspiration from the works of David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club), but all that primarily does is make you wish Fincher was directing this film.
However, it takes a lot for this reviewer to fully dismiss a time travel story, and sticking with The Jacket ultimately proved to not be a total waste of my time. Any film that crams together such varied elements as shattered war veteran/nightmare hospital/time travel/romance/fate versus free will and the shock treatment debate has got to be worth two hours of your life.
But as superficially enjoyable as The Jacket ended up being, you'll find yourself mainly focused on what could've been.
Brody (at what appears to be his super skinny Pianist weight) attacks his role with much conviction, but the script doesn't really give him enough to bite into. Still, he's never less than captivating.
Despite recent successes, Knightley still appears to be finding her feet as an actress, and seems slightly out of place in such an ostensibly "gritty" role. It's simply too much of a jump to believe that someone who looks as she does could become one of life's downtrodden.
As mentioned, Kristofferson convinces as a nasty ol' doctor, albeit one who you can't help imagine spent the early part of his life as a laconic folk singer. Jennifer Jason Leigh proves she still has the goods in a sub plot the film could easily have done without and newly browned James Bond actor Daniel Craig is endearingly jittery as a fellow mental patient of Sparks.
Frustrating and entertaining in equal measure, The Jacket is worth a watch, will elicit a thrill or two and contains some stylistic flourishes, but isn't as half as profound or daring as it seems to think it is.
Moderately recommended.
Dominic Corry
The Jacket opens in cinemas on Thursday January 12.
