I've put the spotlight on two surprisingly obscure Hollywood efforts of varying genre and tone, both of which have, for the most part, slipped between the cracks in the pavement of attention, but both of which bear well their own merits and are worth a look in.
First up, John Maybury's psychological mystery drama, The Jacket.
The Jacket
Traumatised Gulf War veteran Jack Starks (Adrien Brody) lives his life as a drifter after being discharged, a listless existence that culminates in him blacking out while hitch hiking. Upon awaking, a police officer is dead and Starks is presumably responsible, though he cannot recall the incident. Deciding that he is clearly not psychologically fit for trial, the court finds him not guilty by insanity, and he is sent to a psychiatric hospital for dangerous criminals. Here, he is subjected to a covert, experimental treatment by resident chief Dr. Becker (Kris Kristofferson), in which he is bound by a straight jacket (hence the title) and placed in a morgue drawer. Initially appearing to be a form of torture, Starks slowly begins to suffer a series of psychedelic visions, which grow from flashbacks into outer-body experiences.
In this 'second life', Starks finds himself fifteen years in the future, with no explanation for how he arrived at an off road diner on Christmas Eve. He meets and befriends an emotionally dissonant young woman (Keira Knightley), who takes him in, only to find that they have an impossible, mind bending previous connection. Worse still, Starks then learns that he is due to die within the next few days of his 'present' timeline. Switching back and forther between the past and the future, Starks works to discover how he dies, in order to prevent it, and come to understand his unique situation.
Although marketed as a Jacob's Ladder style thriller, The Jacket in actual fact is an emotional journey and love story at heart, with it's in-universe mythology regarding time travel simply a plot device rather than the plot itself. The mystery angle, trying to piece together the soon to come death of Starks in an effort to stop it, acts as a MacGuffin for a familiar, if logical and satisfying, conlusion.
While the concept and story behind the film is a solid one, it doesn't quite reach it's attempted standard as a result of time keeping. While each of the plot strands are well thought out, they are not given nearly enough exposure or growth to be as effective as they could be, and there's a real sense that a significant portion of the script was left out for pragmatic reasons, putting the film in the category of good rather than great, and viewers expecting a rounded wrap up will be disappointed. The core love story, while nice, falls short of impactful, while a number of supporting characters are built up to seem significant, but are then left without closure or, in a couple of cases, purpose.
With the help of a dose of method acting in the morgue drawer scenes, Brody gives a strong leading perfomance as the dishevelled and confused Starks, vulnerable yet bearing a hard edge, consistent with an embittered veteran. Keira Knightley, complete with American accent, displays a seldom seen talent for characterisation as another lost soul in the story's melancholy, while there is an excellent chameleon turn from fellow Brit Daniel Craig as a mental patient, and solid work by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kelly Lynch. Kristofferson seems miscast, a grizzled old timer doc more befitting to a Western.
Though it has the potential to be meaningful, The Jacket ultimately feels half done due to a lack of time spent with the characters, and loses points for combining this with a lack of care for its fundamental deus ex machina, a combination which means that, although it is highly enjoyable, it never becomes more.
7/10
Wonderland
A breakneck, morally retiscent powerhouse effort from Director/Co-Writer James Cox, 2003's Wonderland is a blood soaked, opinion swaying attempt to piece together the infamous murders of the same name in LA's Laurel Canyon, circa 1981, and the part played by a minor celebrity and retrospective legend at the heart of it all.
The first genuine porn star, John Holmes (Val Kilmer) is now a washed up, chemically dependant wreck, living off his reputation to score off anyone willing to give him the time of day, barely able to take care of his much younger lover (Kate Bosworth). When four of his associates are brutally murdered in their Wonderland home, Holmes is immediately implicated by one of the other 'surviviors' of the circle, heroin addict biker David Lind (an unrecocognisable Dylan McDermott). The cops then attempt to make sense of the situation, with Lind and then Holmes giving differing versions of the truth, in which the now dead gang orchestrated a home invasion and robbery on millionaire nightclub owner Eddie Nash (Eric Bogosian), indicating that the killings were a revenge mission.
Ambitious in its efforts to shed light on a famous old Hollywood case, Cox's sweltering take on the saga serves as a compelling, appropriately unresolved drama that stays true to the facts and takes a withdrawn, non-judgemental stance on the real men and women involved. Built on the lack of clarity provided by the police investigation as a means to bring a degree of mystery to the story, it manages to distract the viewer from the fact that there will be no black and white conclusion, an impressive achievement considering its factual roots.
Leading the line as Holmes, a public figure who's tragic, self destructive existence has become more fascinating since his death, Val Kilmer provides another healthy reminder of his talents, bringing a lost boy quality to the debauched and sordid protagnoist, a shattered ego and bruised soul fighting to retain some control of the chaos he lives in. It is a deeply ingrained, complex performance and one that, in a bigger feature, could have provoked Oscar talk.
The ensemble behind him are also uniformly good, with Bosworth showing real nous as Dawn Schiller, a damaged and dependant little girl in an abused young woman's body, holding an unconditional love for the man who is emotionally damaging to her. Eric Bogosian nails Eddie Nash, an authentic and entertaining performance, while the prior mentioned McDermott impresses as the shady Lind, Josh Lucas puts an interesting spin on his traditional handsome asshole routine, and Lisa Kudrow brings an appropriately wearied, mothering quality to Holmes' ex-wife, a woman still playing a dominant role in his life.
While it can be seeing as simply bringing some exposure to an old legend, Wonderland works very well as a drama/thriller outside the restraints of its 'based on a true story' moniker, delivering a thoughtful, anarachic and well paced story, and proving an excellent, underrated slice of life.
8/10
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