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THE JACKET

With Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Kris Kristofferson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kelly Lynch
Directed by John Maybury

Oscar winner Brody (
The Pianist) stars in this psychological trip (which has a string of producers including George Clooney). A Gulf War casualty, Jack ends up back in civilization after treatment. On the road in the snowy weather he meets a young girl and her drunk mother. He fixes their car and they head off. After this he hitches a ride, and then…he's up for murdering a cop. Sent to an institution for the criminally insane, he believes he's innocent. The doctor at this asylum has unconventional methods to treat his patients - tying them in a straight jacket, pumping them full of drugs and shoving them into a drawer for prolonged periods of time. But while in there, Jack seems to be flicking forward into time. Here he meets up with the little girl he saw by the roadside - 14 years later! Grown up, she's followed her mother's bad ways. She doesn't believe it's him - since he died in 1993… Soon he welcomes going back into the jacket, to try and find out what happened/happens to him. Brody is good and the film hinges on his shoulders. Knightly is annoying, especially with her idea of acting morose and strung out being half-mast eyelids and a slack jaw with her small mouth constantly hanging open. A little thing maybe, but enough to disconnect me from her character. If you liked Jacob's Ladder and Butterfly Effect though, to a certain extent this'll work for you.

4 / C
- PB


1 2 3 4 5 6
A - B - C


never let a review decide for you, but for those who need a rating, see the Flamedrop scale below
6 - Volcanic
5 - Blistering
4 - Hot
3 - Smolder
2 - Room Temperature
1 - Fizzled
0 - Extinguished

A: Multi-Viewing Potential

B: Could Enjoy A 2nd Look

C: Once Should Suffice




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