The Jacket

The Jacket has an interesting idea, it attracts the names of good actors and sort of promises an experience from that "higher film league". I give it three slightly above average stars, mostly for the acting. Brody was probably born for such roles, Keira Knightley and Kris Kristofferson are also very convincing, but all of them (in my opinion) were overshadowed by Daniel Craig. In a relatively small space, he showed what is called a perfect transformation, he is almost unrecognizable (not only thanks to his black hair) and he visibly enjoys the role. As far as the story is concerned, this is where The Jacket disappointed me. It lacked any twists that would have made it more interesting, it was hardly dramatic except for a few scenes, and it didn't surprise me with anything. That’s too bad, because it looked more promising. This is how you actually find out from the main character in the middle of the film how it all turns out... And then you're just waiting to find out he was right. (26/10/2010)

The director focused on individual details, but he couldn't perfectly piece together the whole. Technically, the film is brilliant. You can feel the rawness in the image (toning and filters) and there is not much sentimentality. However, several of the themes do not fit together completely in the end and you cannot help but feel that maybe you were expecting something more. The ethereal and very subdued music surprisingly has a strong effect and completes the already very oppressive atmosphere full of fear and loneliness. (10/12/2005)

The Jacket is a film that should be appreciated for its interesting subject and cast, but the final execution disappointed me, especially in contrast to the very decent rating on FilmBooster. Unfortunately, my expectations were higher than what I watched. The plot seemed too chaotic to me, which was due to both the script and the direction, and there were logical inconsistencies in it. However, some moments certainly had a great atmosphere. In several cases, the crazy editing bothered me as well. Overall impression: 45%. (20/01/2009)

A low-key picture with an intelligent screenplay, marvelous editing, good actors and an ending that does considerable damage to the structure so carefully built. Any other ending would have fitted better than the one that the makers used in the end. Even a fade-out would have made me happier than this. Of the considerably erratic acting performances by Adrien Brody, this role and his part in Summer of Sam are the very pinnacle of his promisingly advancing career. Too bad that he had to spoil these two outstanding performances with what he gets up to in The Village. A very pleasant movie surprise. (04/02/2007)

Interesting. This film had everything for me to like it more, but it didn’t happen. The premise is attractive, the performances are good and the atmosphere is decent, and yet, The Jacket only flowed around me as if by the way. The script is to blame, it fails to use the premise in an original way, like the script of other films about travelling to the future, and it left me with the impression that it didn’t know where it was going. The Jacket is still above average, but in such as sterile and unremarkable way that I find it less interesting that a lot of (below) average films. (27/08/2009)