Bad luck dogs The Jacket
IF you ever get the impression that life is constantly conspiring against you, watching the first hour of THE JACKET (15) may make you reconsider your fortunes a bit.
It's doubtful that you've ever seen such a string of bad luck wrap itself around such an amicable chap.
Gulf War veteran Jack Stark (Adrian Brody) is shot in the face on two separate occasions (once by an eight-year-old), suffers traumatic amnesia, gets convicted of murder, is declared criminally insane and locked in a mental hospital.
He's then pumped full of mind-altering drugs and locked in a morgue as part of a "controversial" treatment under prehistorically-visaged doctor Kris Kristofferson, where (just to remove any trace of optimism from the film whatsoever) he develops an ability to see into the future, and learns he has just four days to live.
The Jacket, the second offering from Brit director Peter Maybury (responsible for Sinead O'Connor's weepy Nothing Compares 2 U video) begins impressively.
But halfway through the plot meanders and, panicking at its own growing implausibility, promptly opts for a standard one-size-fits-all mushy Hollywood ending that leaves an uncomfortable sensation that you've been ever so slightly duped.
Described as a "gothic thriller", the film seems to be attempting to be Ghost, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Jacob's Ladder all at the same time - but fails to match up to any of them.
Oscar-winner Brody appears to be TV impressionist Alistair McGowan's identical twin brother and, therefore, quite hard to take seriously. As things grow steadily worse, you want him to launch into an impression of Richard Madeley just to inject a bit of cheer into the dreary proceedings.
A woefully miscast Kristofferson and a criminally underused Jennifer Jason Leigh don't offer any salvation - and Keira Knightley's constant gothic pout starts to grate after a while. The Jacket promises much, but fails to deliver.
Rating: Three stars (out of five)
- JAMES HOWARD
|
|
|
|
|
|