The Jacket (2005)
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44% of critics liked it
(159 reviews) -
69% of users liked it
(77,969 ratings)
A troubled war veteran tries to unlock his memories of a terrible crime in this stylish thriller, the first American project for British filmmaker John Maybury. In 1991, Jack Starks (Adrien Brody) was an American soldier serving in the Persian Gulf when he was shot in the head; pronounced dead by a… More A troubled war veteran tries to unlock his memories of a terrible crime in this stylish thriller, the first American project for British filmmaker John Maybury. In 1991, Jack Starks (Adrien Brody) was an American soldier serving in the Persian Gulf when he was shot in the head; pronounced dead by a field surgeon, Starks somehow returned to life, though with no small number of psychological problems to show for his troubles. A year later, Starks is walking through the snowy Vermont wilderness when he discovers a woman whose truck has broken down, Jean (Kelly Lynch). Starks tries to help Jean and her young daughter, and later flags down a car for a ride into town; however, the car is being driven by a criminal on the run from the police (Brad Renfro), and not long after the car is cornered by police, Starks' memory goes blank. When he comes to, Jack is accused of killing a patrolman in the violent standoff that followed, and is told that the woman, her daughter, and the criminal existed only in his imagination. Declared insane in his murder trial, Starks is sentenced to a mental institution run by Dr. Becker (Kris Kristofferson), who seems to believe that the more brutal the treatment, the better. As Starks suffers frequent beatings and long spells in a frozen locker, his mind drifts from his harrowing past into the future, where he visits with Jackie (Keira Knightley), who once was the young girl Starks tried to help. The Jacket also features Jennifer Jason Leigh as Dr. Lorenson, a compassionate doctor who tries to help Starks and his fellow patients. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- John Maybury
- Written By
- Massy Tadjedin, Tom Bleecker
- Genres
- Drama, Horror, Mystery & Suspense
- In Theaters
- Mar 4, 2005 Wide
- On DVD
- Jun 21, 2005
- Studio
- Warner Independent
Critic Reviews
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Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
The acting is uniformly excellent.
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Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
It just bounces Brody back and forth in time and yanks us around, and around, and around.
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Desson Thomson, Washington Post
The Jacket is doing nothing but sampling elements of Jacob's Ladder, The Silence of the Lambs and Memento.
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Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
Here, Maybury is just arty for art's sake, filming entire scenes in close-ups so big that viewers leave the theater knowing way more than they ever wanted to about the lead actors' bridgework.
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Scott Foundas, Variety
Pic begins as a potentially intriguing study of the depersonalizing effects of warfare, only to end up a pastiche of time-travel and psycho-ward movie cliches.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Adrien Brody
as Jack Starks
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Keira Knightley
as Jackie Price
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Kris Kristofferson
as Dr. Becker
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Jennifer Jason Leigh
as Dr. Lorenson
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Daniel Craig
as Mackenzie
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Kelly Lynch
as Jean
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Laura Marano
as Young Jackie
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Brad Renfro
as Stranger
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Mackenzie Phillips
as Nurse Harding
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Brendan Coyle
as Damon
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Steven Mackintosh
as Dr. Hopkins
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Jason Lewis
as Police Officer
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Jonah Lotan
as Intern



