SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: THE JACKET

"THE JACKET"
(2005) (Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Moderate	Heavy	Extreme	Moderate	Heavy

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Mild	Mild	Mild	None	Extreme

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Heavy	Moderate	Mild	Moderate	Extreme

QUICK TAKE:: Suspense/Thriller: Committed to a mental hospital for a murder he can't remember, a war veteran is subjected to experimental isolation therapy that has the side effect of seemingly transporting him into the future where he tries to learn the truth about that and his apparent death in the past.

PLOT:

A year after having been declared dead in the first Gulf War in 1991 Iraq only to come back to life, Jack Starks (ADRIEN BRODY) is a drifter making his way across Vermont. After helping a young girl, Jackie Price, and her drunken mother, Jean (KELLY LYNCH), get their car started, Jack accepts a ride from a stranger (BRAD RENFRO). When a cop ends up dead following a traffic stop, Jack can't remember a thing, but he's charged with the murder. Found innocent due to insanity, he ends up committed to the Alpine Grove Psychiatric Hospital under the care of Dr. Tom Becker (KRIS KRISTOFFERSON) who's oblivious to or doesn't mind that his orderlies and nurses mistreat the patients there.

Much to the concern of subordinate Dr. Beth Lorenson (JENNIFER JASON LEIGH), Becker is experimenting with a pseudo form of isolation therapy where his patients are medicated, strapped into a straight jacket and then placed for hours in an empty morgue drawer slot. In the near pitch black conditions and with the drugs doing their thing, Jack ends up hallucinating, seeing flash images of the cop's killing and other events from his past.

During what first appears to be another hallucination inside the box but then seems to turn out to be something entirely different, Jack finds himself sans the jacket and drawer, standing outside a diner. He spots a waitress (KEIRA KNIGHTLEY) who offers to give him a ride out of the cold and tries to find a place for him to stay. When that doesn't work, she allows him to stay at her place for the night, but while there, he makes a shocking discovery. His army dog tags, that he gave to young Jackie the year before, are now hanging in this woman's place.

He then realizes, but can't understand how it's possible that she's Jackie, now grown up. She doesn't believe him, stating that Jack died in 1993, some fourteen years ago. Yet, when Jack is pulled back out of the morgue slot, it's late 1992, and another inmate, Rudy Mackenzie (DANIEL CRAIG), informs him that if he doesn't resist, it's easier to make use of one's isolated time in there.

As Jack is repeatedly subjected to such "therapy," he continues to return to adult Jackie in 2007, hoping to figure out what really happened in the past, including his death that's set to occur in just a few days back in his time in the mental hospital.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Beyond anyone who might be a fan of someone in the cast, some older teens might be interested in the heady subject matter.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For violence, language and brief sexuality/nudity.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: ADRIEN BRODY plays an Iraqi War veteran who's charged with murdering a cop, but doesn't remember anything about that and is thus committed to a mental institute. There, he's subjected to experimental isolation therapy, during which he experiences things from his past as well, apparently, as his future. He smokes a few times, uses some strong profanity, has sex with Jackie and tries to figure out the details regarding his doomed past.
KEIRA KNIGHTLEY plays a young and troubled woman who befriends and helps Jack find out what led to his death in the past. She smokes, drinks, uses some profanity and has sex with him.
KRIS KRISTOFFERSON plays the lead doctor at the mental hospital who's performing experimental isolation therapy on his patients. He drinks some.
JENNIFER JASON LEIGH plays his subordinate who becomes concerned about Jack and his treatment at the hospital. She smokes once.
KELLY LYNCH plays Jackie's apparently alcoholic mother in the past who smokes and seems to have no future. She uses strong profanity.
BRAD RENFRO plays the stranger who murders a cop and pins the crime on Jack.
DANIEL CRAIG plays another inmate at the mental hospital who befriends Jack and informs him of the ways of the isolation therapy.; KEIRA KNIGHTLEY plays a young and troubled woman who befriends and helps Jack find out what led to his death in the past. She smokes, drinks, uses some profanity and has sex with him.
KRIS KRISTOFFERSON plays the lead doctor at the mental hospital who's performing experimental isolation therapy on his patients. He drinks some.
JENNIFER JASON LEIGH plays his subordinate who becomes concerned about Jack and his treatment at the hospital. She smokes once.
KELLY LYNCH plays Jackie's apparently alcoholic mother in the past who smokes and seems to have no future. She uses strong profanity.
BRAD RENFRO plays the stranger who murders a cop and pins the crime on Jack.
DANIEL CRAIG plays another inmate at the mental hospital who befriends Jack and informs him of the ways of the isolation therapy.; KRIS KRISTOFFERSON plays the lead doctor at the mental hospital who's performing experimental isolation therapy on his patients. He drinks some.
JENNIFER JASON LEIGH plays his subordinate who becomes concerned about Jack and his treatment at the hospital. She smokes once.
KELLY LYNCH plays Jackie's apparently alcoholic mother in the past who smokes and seems to have no future. She uses strong profanity.
BRAD RENFRO plays the stranger who murders a cop and pins the crime on Jack.
DANIEL CRAIG plays another inmate at the mental hospital who befriends Jack and informs him of the ways of the isolation therapy.; JENNIFER JASON LEIGH plays his subordinate who becomes concerned about Jack and his treatment at the hospital. She smokes once.
KELLY LYNCH plays Jackie's apparently alcoholic mother in the past who smokes and seems to have no future. She uses strong profanity.
BRAD RENFRO plays the stranger who murders a cop and pins the crime on Jack.
DANIEL CRAIG plays another inmate at the mental hospital who befriends Jack and informs him of the ways of the isolation therapy.; KELLY LYNCH plays Jackie's apparently alcoholic mother in the past who smokes and seems to have no future. She uses strong profanity.
BRAD RENFRO plays the stranger who murders a cop and pins the crime on Jack.
DANIEL CRAIG plays another inmate at the mental hospital who befriends Jack and informs him of the ways of the isolation therapy.; BRAD RENFRO plays the stranger who murders a cop and pins the crime on Jack.
DANIEL CRAIG plays another inmate at the mental hospital who befriends Jack and informs him of the ways of the isolation therapy.; DANIEL CRAIG plays another inmate at the mental hospital who befriends Jack and informs him of the ways of the isolation therapy.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

The following is a brief summary of the content found in this suspense flick that's been rated R. Profanity consists of at least 15 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. A couple is seen having sex (brief and partial views shown in slow motion, including some brief nudity and movement), while a woman's bare breasts are briefly seen as she sits in a bathtub.

Violence consists of several shootings (resulting in death or severe injury - with one such act repeatedly seen as brief, flashback images); a person falling and striking their head (with a lot of resultant blood pooling behind them); and green-tinted, surveillance type footage (meaning no details and from a distance) of military strikes on equipment and people (where the latter are obliterated by massive gunfire, etc.).

Some of that material, various flash bits of bloody imagery, and other moments (including isolation therapy inside a morgue slot) may be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers, while various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes. Various characters smoke and/or drink, with one appearing to be an alcoholic. Thematic elements include the criminally insane and various forms of therapy on them.

If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: Jean appears to be drunk or strung out (and may be an alcoholic) when Jack stops by to help them with their broken down vehicle.
Dr. Becker has a drink.
Jackie drinks from a small bottle while sitting behind the wheel of her stopped vehicle. She later offers a drink to Jack, but he declines, and she has one by herself.
Jack finds a bottle of liquor in Jackie's freezer. Later, she offers to get him a drink and this time he accepts.
Dr. Becker has a drink.

BLOOD/GORE: We see blood spray out when a kid shoots Jack in the head during the war. We then see an imagined bloody shot followed by one of a soldier who's missing part of his leg (with bloody results) as well as Jack who has bloody wounds on his face and is thought to be dead, but then comes to.
We see Jean (who's drunk or strung out) vomit and then hear more such sounds.
We see a quick flashback to the stranger shooting a cop who's just pulled him over, with brief, bloody results. We see more quick shots of the same, as well as bloody images, all done in an artsy fashion.
Hospital staffers grab Jack, and jab a needle into his arm (with slight bloody results).
Put into a pseudo isolation chamber (a morgue table slid into a holder drawer), we see various flash images, including blood filling Jack's eyes and other flashed bloody imagery, as well as quick views of the stranger shooting the cop from before.
Jack hits Dr. Becker in the face with a straight jacket (drawing some blood on his cheek) and others then struggle to constrain him.
We see more flash images of violence and blood.
We see another brief shot of blood spreading across Jack's eyes in his isolation chamber.
After Jack pulls an IV needle out of his arm, we see a tiny bit of blood (and see bruises on his arm from previous IVs).
We see some bruises on Jack's sides.
A person slips in an icy parking lot and bangs their head hard on the cold surface. We then see a large pool of blood spreading behind their head, and then blood-matted hair on the back of their head at the wound area. We later see this person lying on a morgue drawer with another pool of blood behind their head.
We see some blood on Jack's head in 2007.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: While drunk, Jean is mean to Jack when he stops by to help her and her daughter.
Some may view Dr. Becker subjecting his patients to his experimental, isolation therapy as having a bad attitude. He also states that you can't break something that's already broken (referring to his patients and his experimental mode of treating them).
Some nurses and orderlies treat the mental hospital patients badly.
Rudy states that he tried killing his wife thirty times in the past and that she left him for another man.
We see a flashback to when the stranger shoots the cop on the side of the road. He shoots him three times (no blood), with a shot from the cop hitting or hitting near Jack (no impact seen), leaving him unconscious. The stranger then wipes his fingerprints from the gun and places it alongside Jack to implicate him in the murder.
Dr. Lorenson reluctantly does some electroshock therapy on a young boy (at home) with some sort of affliction. It works (getting him to speak for the first time in a while) but some may view the therapy as being mean/cruel.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material.
Hospital staffers grab Jack, jab a needle into his arm (with slight bloody results), put tape over his mouth and violently take him to what's presumably the morgue (with rows and columns of sliding tables behind small square doors). He's then quickly and roughly strapped by three people into a straight jacket and then slid into one of those nearly pitch black drawers for three hours (all as part of Dr. Becker's isolation therapy).
Jack knows (in the "present" of 1992) that he's going to die in four days, and thus races around in his isolation chamber induced trips to the future to figure out how and why.

GUNS/WEAPONS: We see green-tinted surveillance footage of war-time violence (all from a distance with accompanying sounds), including various explosions, machine-gunfire, and the sight of human figures being blasted by such gunfire (with no details, but obvious obliteration). We also see bombs being dropped, some struggling and dragging of people and guns being pointed (all seen in regular looking footage). We then see a regular shot of Jack in the war, approached by a kid who shoots him in the head (we see blood spray out).
We see various flashback views of one scene where a stranger shoots and kills a cop.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "Get your f*cking hands off my daughter," "Get the f*ck out of my house," "F*cked up," "Little f*ckers," "Piece of sh*t," "Bullsh*t," "Colder than a witch's t*tty," "Get in the G*ddamn car," "Don't be a jerk," "Who the hell are you?" "Nuts" (crazy), "You idiot" and "This is really freaking me out."
It's possible some kids could try to subject others to some sort of isolation therapy (perhaps in a pseudo straightjacket) or electroshock therapy.

JUMP SCENES: Various quick, flash images in otherwise dark scenes might startle some viewers.
We see flash images and hear related sounds of the stranger shooting the cop from before.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): A mild amount of suspenseful music plays in the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: At least 15 "f" words, 9 "s" words, 1 slang term for breasts ("t*tty"), 2 hells, 3 uses of "G-damn," 2 each of "God," "Oh God" and "Oh my God" and 1 use each of "For God's sakes" and "Jesus."

SEX/NUDITY: We see a sideways view of Jackie sitting in the bathtub and see her bare breasts from that angle.
We see a drawing of a woman in a bikini.
We see part of the front of Jack's underwear when an orderly drags him into a room with his pants partially open. We later see the same again.
Jack grabs Jackie and kisses her. We then see brief and partial images of them having sex (him kissing the top of her bare breast, some caressing, him on top of her between her legs, etc. -- all shown in slow motion). We then see them in bed afterwards, including a view of her bare back in bed.

SMOKING: Jackie smokes at least 4 times, Jack and Jean each smoke twice, Dr. Lorenson smokes once and some miscellaneous characters smoke.
Adult Jackie states that her mom is dead and that she burned to death from a cigarette-generated fire while she slept.
Rudy tells Jack that he brought him some "smokes" (cigarettes).

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: Rudy states that he tried killing his wife thirty times in the past and that she left him for another man.
Adult Jackie states that her mom is dead and that she burned to death from a cigarette-generated fire while she slept.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: Mental hospitals and those committed to them.
Being innocent based on being deemed mentally insane.
The notion of what's real and what's not.
Dr. Becker's comment that you can't break something that's already broken (referring to his patients and his experimental mode of treating them).
Adult Jackie states that her mom is dead and that she burned to death from a cigarette-generated fire while she slept.
We hear of a former male patient who sodomized and killed a 7-year-old girl in the past.
Dr. Lorenson reluctantly does some electroshock therapy on a young boy (at home) with some sort of affliction. The boy's body stiffens and contorts from the shock for a moment, but the "therapy" works as he then speaks for the first time in a while.

VIOLENCE: We see green-tinted surveillance footage of war-time violence (all from a distance with accompanying sounds), including various explosions, machine-gunfire, and the sight of human figures being blasted by such gunfire (with no details, but obvious obliteration). We also see bombs being dropped, some struggling and dragging of people and guns being pointed (all seen in regular looking footage). We then see a regular shot of Jack in the war, approached by a kid who shoots him in the head (we see blood spray out).
We see a quick flashback to the stranger shooting a cop who's just pulled him over, with brief, bloody results. We see more quick shots of the same, as well as bloody images, all done in an artsy fashion.
A hospital orderly throws clothes at Jack.
Hospital staffers grab Jack, jab a needle into his arm (with slight bloody results), put tape over his mouth and violently take him to what's presumably the morgue (with rows and columns of sliding tables behind small square doors). He's then quickly and roughly strapped by three people into a straight jacket and then slid into one of those nearly pitch black drawers for three hours (all as part of Dr. Becker's isolation therapy).
After Jack is put into the pseudo isolation chamber again, we see various flash images, including blood filling Jack's eyes and other flashed bloody imagery, as well as quick views of the stranger shooting the cop from before.
Rudy states that he tried killing his wife thirty times in the past.
Jack hits Dr. Becker in the face with a straight jacket (drawing some blood on his cheek) and others then struggle to constrain him.
We see more flash images of violence and blood.
We see a flashback to when the stranger shoots the cop on the side of the road. He shoots him three times (no blood), with a shot from the cop hitting or hitting near Jack (no impact seen), leaving him unconscious.
We see flash images and hear related sounds of the stranger shooting the cop from before.
Dr. Lorenson reluctantly does some electroshock therapy on a young boy (at home) with some sort of affliction. The boy's body stiffens and contorts from the shock for a moment, but the "therapy" works as he then speaks for the first time in a while.
A person slips in an icy parking lot and bangs their head hard on the cold surface. We then see a large pool of blood spreading behind their head, and then blood-matted hair on the back of their head at the wound area. We later see this person lying on a morgue drawer with another pool of blood behind their head.

Reviewed February 24, 2005 / Posted March 4, 2005

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