DVD Details:
- Widescreen format with English and French language
- Featurette: Project History and Deleted Scenes (30:00)
- Special Effects Featurette: The Look of the Jacket (10:00)
Review: The Jacket bears a resemblance to 12 Monkeys in that the main character's present is disturbing and without much hope. And like that film, the way the main character, in this case Jack Starks, is without explaination is able to travel to the future with the help some drugs and a certain room located underground. The marketing seemed to portray the film as utterly dark and gothic in tone. Although the film is bleak and disturbing within the institution, the marketing was geared toward a much smaller audience than the film actually can appeal to. That is disappointing because the film does follow the Hollywood formula, but does so in a more disjointed and provocative way than most films.
Like 12 Monkeys, the story does not completely come together until nearly the end of the film. Again, while unraveling the mystery, the film's main character develops a romantic relationship with someone in the future. However, unlike Bruce Willis' character who had mostly selfish motives which turn selfless only at the climax, here, Jack Starks is paternal in some ways and as his death nears, he makes an attempt to change things for the better for a little girl and her mother. Starks realizes that his fate is decided, but he can still affect the lives of others. In that way, the film actually has a happy ending. Though the film does seem to struggle with what themes are most important, it does end with a positive note.
The DVD includes a couple of featurettes. The first runs about thirty minutes in length, going behind the film's conception, casting and some of the shooting. It concludes with several deleted scenes including alternate endings. The second featurette is about ten minutes long and describes how the unique visual effects were conceived.
This film is rated R for violence, language and brief sexuality/nudity.
