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 wrong when a cop pulls them over and is murdered by a stranger. The vet is wrongly accused of the killing and lands in an asylum. A disreputable doctor prescribes a course of experimental therapy, restraining him in a modified strength straight jacket-like device, and locks him away in a cadaver drawer in the basement morgue. During the course of his treatment, he gets flashbacks and visions of his future where he can foresee that he is to die in four days time; He just doesn't know how. And thus commences the classic race against time for this tortured veteran with an expiration date.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

I was 27 years old the first time I died.

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | 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

Bethan Mowat, the Canadian second assistant director's name is misspelled in the movie credits as Maowat.

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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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Alternate Versions

There are 2 continuations to the last scene where Jackie gives Jack a ride and the sun shines behind them. In one version, we hear Jack screaming as Dr. Becker gets him out of the drawer. In the second Version, we see Jack has really died in Iraq.

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Connections

Featured in The Jacket: Project History and Deleted Scenes (2005)

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Soundtracks

Auld Lang Syne
Traditional tune, lyrics by Robert Burns (uncredited)
[Incorrectly credited as written by D. Walter]
Arranged by D. Walter
Courtesy of KPM Music Ltd.

User Reviews

Top notch story telling

In "The Jacket" a lone drifter named Jack Satrks who has gotten discharged from the military after the gulf war helps a mother and daughter with their car trouble. The plot then takes a fast jump to Starks in a mental institution for the criminally insane. During a cruel experiment conducted by the Doctors in the facility he's forced to wear a straight jacket and is locked into a closet. He soon begins to fight to distinguish between the real world and the world in which his mind has created for him.

Adrien Brody gives a fantastic performance as a tortured war vet who just wants to find happiness. Brody manages to keep the audience wanting more all the way to the end. Kiera Knightly and Jennifer Jason Leigh use their great acting abilities to smooth the story along and make this movie a must see.