Jack Starks (Adrien Brody, THE PIANIST) is a Gulf war vet who survived a shot to the head. Once home, he inadvertently was wrapped up in the murder of a police officer and sent to a mental institution. There Dr. Thomas Becker (Kris Kristofferson, BLADE) uses drugs and locking patients in morgue drawers to simulate the womb. This is what he calls therapy.
In the morgue drawer, Jack gains the power to travel in time and ends up in the future after he has died. He meets an adult Jackie Price (Keira Knightley, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN), who was a little girl who he helped the day the police officer was killed. With the help of Jackie and eventually Dr. Lorenson (Jennifer Jason Leigh, THE MACHINIST), Jack tries to discover how he died. Another key character is fellow inmate Rudy Mackenzie (Daniel Craig, ENDURING LOVE).
The film starts slowly, but picks up as the film enters into the mystery of Jack’s death. However, the film unravels at the end with a closing that seems weak and sentimental. Another weakness of the film is the lack of development in regards to Jack and Jackie’s relationship. It jumps from platonic to romantic in a split second with no lead up at all.
British indie director Jay Maybury brings a nice visual style to the film, but doesn’t have a script that packs a powerful enough conclusion to win the audience over. I was so reminded of THE MACHINIST, which too slowly developed, but ended with a bang that was worth the wait. Thriller and time travel fans should at least check it out. But there is a host of other recent twisty thrillers that work better as a whole and don’t disappoint in the end that should be checked out first.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
