The Jacket (2005)

A Gulf war veteran is wrongly sent to a mental institution for insane criminals, where he becomes the object of a doctor's experiments, and his life is completely affected by them.

Director:

John Maybury

Writers:

Tom Bleecker (story), Marc Rocco (story)

Stars:

Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Daniel Craig

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adrien Brody	...	Jack Starks
Keira Knightley	...	Jackie Price
Kris Kristofferson	...	Dr. Thomas Becker
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Dr. Beth Lorenson
Kelly Lynch	...	Jean Price
Brad Renfro	...	The Stranger
Daniel Craig	...	Rudy Mackenzie
Steven Mackintosh	...	Dr. Hopkins
Brendan Coyle	...	Damon
Mackenzie Phillips	...	Nurse Harding
Laura Marano	...	Young Jackie
Jason Lewis	...	Officer Harrison
Richard Dillane	...	Captain Medley
Jonah Lotan	...	Intern #1
Angel Coulby	...	Intern #2

Storyline

The film centers on a wounded Gulf war veteran who returns to his native Vermont suffering from bouts of amnesia. He is hitching and gets picked up by a stranger, things go pear shaped when a cop pulls them over and is murdered by the stranger. The vet. is wrongly accused of killing the cop and lands up in an asylum. A quack doctor prescribes a course of experimental therapy, restraining him in a heavy duty straight jacket-like device, and locks him away in a body drawer of the basement morgue. During course of his treatment he gets flashbacks and visions of his future , where he can foresee he is to die in four days time. The catch is he doesn't know how. Thus commences the classic race against time.

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Plot Keywords:

gulf war veteran | psychological experiment | strait jacket | insane asylum | time travel | 

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Taglines:

When you die, all you want to do is come back.

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and brief sexuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 March 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Regresiones de un hombre muerto

Filming Locations:

Bangour Village Hospital, Dechmont, West Lothian, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$29,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,723,682, 6 March 2005, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$6,303,762, 18 December 2005

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$20,046,858, 18 June 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mandalay Pictures,Warner Independent Pictures (WIP),2929 Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min 94 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is based on the story "The Star Rover" by Jack London, which in turn, was based on his interviews with Ed Morrell, who, while in prison at San Quentin, was tortured, often with a very tight straitjacket, which constricted his chest, breathing, and blood flow. In order to cope with this, he quickly learned self-hypnosis, similar to what Jack Starks (Adrien Brody) goes through.

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Goofs

The second time Jack is taken out of the drawer and one can hear the nurses start to remove the velcro straps of the jacket, Jack is still lying on his back. However, the velcro straps are actually in the back.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jack Starks: [Walking over to Iraqi child who's breathing hard] How's it going little man? You all right?
[Babak pulls out gun. Jack puts his hand up in a stop gesture but Babak shoots Jack in the head. Jack falls to the ground]

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Connections

Featured in The Look of 'The Jacket': Influences from the Avant-Garde (2005)

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Soundtracks

Unbelievable
Written by James Atkin (as Atkin), Derran Brownson (as Brownson), Mark Decloedt (as Decloedt), Ian Dench (as Dench) and Zachary Foley (as Foley)
Performed by EMF (as E.M.F.)
Courtesy of E.M.F.
Under license from Warner/Chappell Music
Produced by Ian Dench and Ollie Jacobs

User Reviews

Perfect, Amazing, GREAT, Sexy, Artst and Lovely!

Literlly a TEN! 2 thumbs WAY up! This was an uplifting, thoughtful, mind thriller! It makes you really think. This is not scary though. The romance and chemistry between "Jack Starks"(Adrien Brody) and "Jackie Price" (Kiera Knightly) was perfectly amazing! Adrian Brody has a way of drawing you in through his eyes and actions in all his films. I nearly cried at the end (Not saying if it's happy or sad) and I was just amazed at how it basically showed that life has meaning, and second chances ARE possible. Like he says in the movie: "I think we live through certain things, just to say that we actually did live through them. Not anyone else, but you." Amazing and lovely! I URGE you to see it and I was angry that it wasn't int heaters for long. By the way, I'm gonna marry that man! Hehe. --Natalie R.L.