butterworth@a1.mscf.upenn.edu (David N. Butterworth) (07/18/89)
JACKNIFE
Reviewed by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 1989 David N. Butterworth/The Summer Pennsylvanian
The issues raised in JACKNIFE are not new. Neither is the film's
approach. If you really want to watch a provocative film which examines the
effects the Vietnam War had on those who served in the offensive, and those who
waited for them back home, check out the likes of THE DEER HUNTER or, better
still, COMING HOME. The fine performances in JACKNIFE are worth the price of
admission, but the story and screenplay fall short.
Three men serve in the same platoon in Vietnam and become the best of
buddies. One is crazy, one is smart, and one is scared. Robert De Niro,
naturally enough, plays the crazy one, Joseph Megassy, or "Megs." The scared
one is played by Ed Harris (THE RIGHT STUFF), almost unrecognizable in his
role as David Flanagan, a burned out, beer-guzzling truck driver. Ironically,
the smart one never returns home, a victim of a Vietcong bullet.
Remembrance of the friend left behind becomes the central theme in this
story. His death haunts David with frightening regularity. We are treated to
occasional flashbacks of combat sequences which do little to further the drama.
They are all too familiar in a story about coming to terms with oneself after
the horrors of war.
David lives with his beleaguered sister, Martha (played by Kathy Baker).
Their relationship is the only thing of any stability in his life. She is his
comfort and his companion, but cannot ease his conscience. Latent fears are
stirred in David when Megs shows up on the scene, acting on a promise that the
two of them go trout fishing together.
Predictably, De Niro is attracted to his buddy's sister and the drama
begins to unfold in damp suburban disharmony. The bleak Connecticut background
provides a peaceful contrast to that which both men were subjected to a month
previously.
Sporting facial hair last seen in THE MISSION, De Niro walks through his
role with ease. He gets all the good one-liners (his idea of an "elegant
cocktail" is a Bud!) and lives life in the fast lane -- literally, from
speeding in his friend's truck to smashing his fist through windows when he
gets perturbed. Perhaps in an attempt to attract moviegoers, the producers
gave the film a snappy title. All that JACKNIFE actually refers to is the
wartime nickname De Niro's character was given because he used to crash big
rigs when he was younger. All in all it's a pretty shoddy marketing ploy.
Harris, on the other hand, has a much more difficult role, yet it is hard
to feel sympathetic towards him. He plays what has sadly become a
stereotypical Vietnam veteran role -- psychologically scarred, tortured by
guilt, a little bit responsible, full of denial. He drinks to forget.
But the real star of the film is Kathy Baker. She is a jewel in an
otherwise ordinary production. Her part motherly spinster, part shy, retiring
violet of a Biology teacher is so well developed, so fine-tuned, that it's hard
to tell where her character ends and the actress begins.
Director David Jones is no stranger to acting threesomes. His 1983 film
BETRAYAL brought together Jeremy Irons, Ben Kingsley and Patricia Hodge in a
powerhouse drama of infidelity. In JACKNIFE, Jones once again manages to milk
fine performances from his three leading players, but what's at fault here is
the material itself. You can't help feeling that, with a better script, this
too could have been a formidable drama. Instead, the film disappoints. The
able cast tries its best but the writing just isn't there, and that fact soon
begins to take its toll on the proceedings.
Stephen Metcalfe adapted his stage play, STRANGE SNOW, for the screen.
On stage, this might have worked better as the plot would no doubt have taken a
back seat to the actors' presence and vibrancy. On screen, however, the story
and its mundane treatment wear pretty thin pretty fast.
Admittedly, the film appears to be full of good intentions, but all too
often it comes awfully close to being stuffy and self-righteous. We have,
after all, seen and heard all this before. No one is denying the reality that
was Vietnam, but this movie paints its after-effects in an inappropriately pat
and self-effacing style.
JACKNIFE is not a bad film -- it simply fails to say anything new about
the post-Vietnam experience.
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| Directed by: David Jones David N. Butterworth - UNIVERSITY OF PA |
| Rating (L. Maltin): ** Internet: butterworth@a1.mscf.upenn.edu |
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