Why was this in Fangoria? I mean granted, “The Jacket” would not be described as a fun romp in the woods, but I just couldn’t understand why it would be considered a horror film. More appropriately, “The Jacket” is a very cerebral Lynchian film about the effects of war on soldiers who find that life outside the battlefield is just as horrifying as life inside. “The Jacket”, when not overly examined, is a very fascinating parable about a man trying to fix what’s right and is desperately attempting to atone for his sins with his ability to skip back and forth in time for what he conceives as a purpose. His ability to do so is used to give this mom and daughter more time in their lives, question is will changing the future lengthen the life, or just cause the fate to work in another way?

“The Jacket” also presents a provoking glimpse at a character that may or may not exist, and or may or may not be alive. Writer Massy Tadjedin presents fascinating ideas about death, time travel, and the ability to change it with one action. On the talent side, there are very good performances with Daniel Craig as a mental patient who helps Jack discover the origins of his abilities, and Adrien Brody who is a gripping a anti-hero who falls for the girl he decides to help. Jack really ends up being more of a protective entity, a guiding angel, or he could just be a ghost. Either way, “The Jacket” presents some fascinating ideas and story devices to its audience and challenges it to decipher what exactly is unfolding before them.

Why was this in Fangoria? Because I think horror is the last genre I’d define “The Jacket” as, especially since it really doesn’t cover any new ground. It’s a time hopping semi-philosophical allegory that once again seems to be inspired by films like “Donnie Darko”, “The I Inside”, and “Butterfly Effect” where it features a hero that may or may not be alive, and may or may not be in this reality struggling to decide where he belongs, and how to fix what he’s broken. As all the others, this also deals in time, and time contradictions and never really explores anything new beyond the whole jacket device. “The Jacket” really strives to be better, you can almost feel it desperately attempting to become better than it is throughout the entirety of the film, but it never achieves it, because it’s so limp.

What makes Jackie so special? Why do the doctors put patients in the jacket again? Was this a form of chemical testing or was Jack supposed to have been time shifting? There have been so many films like this in the last six years already, who needs one more of these semi-existential mysteries? And what was the mystery after all beyond the typical Christ allegories? “The Jacket” is never as interesting as it thinks it is and prefers limp surreal imagery over truly compelling characterization which never works as much as it tries, especially when Jackie is a boring personality, and Jack never goes beyond the brooding soldier routine. Even though it attempts the whole sad, melancholy climax, I was just left scratching my head and trying to wrap my brain around the plot.

While it has the right idea in terms of ideas and concepts, and is occasionally a very interesting bit of a mystery, it really never becomes nothing more than a take on “Donnie Darko” in which a man has to save others at the cost of his own life through surreal flashbacks. Though Craig and Knightley give good performances, “The Jacket” never gets off the ground and remains a limp boring drama.

• I’d gladly have Keira Knightley with sprinkles and two scoops.
• Why was this covered in “Fangoria” again?

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