Reviewed by Kim Lesch

A FEW 'w' words on John Maybury's Love is the Devil: whoopie, wowzers, wonderful.

A few 'p' words on John Maybury's The Jacket: plotless, pointless, painful.

A few more words on The Jacket in general: I like Sci-fi films. I sat through all of Omega Man AND Soylent Green. I think Logan's Run rules the roost – but The Jacket simply pales in comparison to what it is essentially striving for: terrific 70s Sci-fi flicks. The sort that have a twisting plot, mysterious philosophical circumstances, and a pretty girl who needs saving. Keira Knightley (The Girl) doesn't exactly 'need' saving as much as she needs to eat a goddamn sandwich, but I digress.


The Jacket's plot is direct and although twists are gallantly attempted, it's fairly clear how the ending will roll around and pan out. The characters – all of whom are unlikable with the exception of Adrien Brody – are downright boring in comparison to Jack Stark's gentle composure and general kindness. Brody plays Starks, who goes from being given a piss poor deck of cards in the beginning (he is a war vet who was seriously injured for being nice to some kid with a machine gun), to getting himself into a serious pot o' yogurt by being framed for the murder of a cop. From the courtroom, where his war injury prevents him from being able to remember that he didn't kill the cop, to the mental hospital, Starks is constantly getting the short end of the stick. We feel sympathy for him and it's genuine, but when the method of his therapy is presented – a straight jacket, isolation tank, and trippy drugs – it's nearly impossible to roll your eyes. However, I did perk up a little when I got to hear Knightley's fairly decent American accent, but this passable accent does not extend to her character. From the ridiculously well applied eye makeup to the totally unbelievable acting, Knightley was depressingly bad. I hesitate to include that Jennifer Jason Leigh was in this mess, but I am sure that she chose the role because of the director and not the script (ditto for Daniel Craig's involvement).

Remember that film I said a few 'w' words about above? Yeah – Love is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon. Rent that instead of watching this. Maybury began as a colorist in film and his artistic expertise is better employed there. Also, with a cast that includes Daniel Craig, Tilda Swinton, and Derek Jacobi, it's a well acted piece of work that stays with you far longer that the time it takes to shrug off a jacket.