The Jacket/Domino

These two films have a number of things in common. Both are from 2005, both star Keira Knightley, and both are examples of works that epileptics might well steer clear of, as they have extremely quick cuts and visual daring-do. Although the directors in each example approach their subjects from different vantage points, they can be loved or hated based on whether or not a viewer can process all the information.

The Jacket was directed by John Maybury, best known for directing rock videos and avant-garde films in England. He was tapped by producers Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney to make this time-bending story of a Gulf War vet (Adrien Brody) who finds himself in a mental institution. A doctor (Kris Kristofferson) conducts experiments on our poor hero, drugging him, strapping him in a straitjacket, and stuffing him in a morgue drawer. Brody discovers that while he's in there he travels forward in time, where he finds out that he has been dead for years.

On the face, the story that The Jacket tells is compelling. I'm always up for a film that tackles time travel and its inherent paradoxes, and the script, by Massy Tadjedin, is thoughtful (it probably helps that after watching the TV show Lost I'm steeled for time-travel conundrums). Brody, in his flash-forwards, hooks up with Knightley, whom he had met as a young girl, and she helps him piece together the clues of just what happened to him.

Maybury, in the supplemental material, cites influences as varied as experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage and silent-film director Erich Von Stroheim--Maybury utilizes tight close-ups often, sometimes just of eyes or mouths. You'll feel like Brody or Kristofferson's dentist by the end. To be sure, there are times when the film is just too busy, a whirligig of images and quick cuts that can be overwhelming to the senses, but fortunately the story and the performances keep the viewer involved emotionally.

Domino, directed by Tony Scott, is also what could be called busy. But I don't think it was influenced by anything but attitude--the film, much like its heroine, has a chip on its shoulder. That being said, I liked Domino.

Domino Harvey was a real person, a beautiful young girl who was also a tough bounty hunter. A combination like that begged for a film, and the result probably bears little relation to the truth (the climax, an explosion on top of the Stratosphere in Las Vegas, probably would have made the news if it really happened). So if truth is what you're interested in, don't come knockin'. Instead enjoy the ride.

The attitude starts with Knightley's performance. She's a perfect choice for the part. Just as you can't imagine this wisp of an English rose actually toting around guns or throwing knives, so too was Domino Harvey a contradiction in terms. Knightley sinks her teeth into the role and absolutely nails it. And how can you lose when she's supported by Mickey Rourke, Christopher Walken and Tom Waits?

Scott has directed the film within an inch of it's life. I don't know if there's one scene that hasn't been amped up on something, whether it's over-cranking, over-saturation, or over-something-else-or-another. I know some have found this to make for incoherence (the script was written by the famously confounding Richard Kelly) but I wasn't bothered too much by it. Bounty hunters are a kind of people who live on the margin, as are the people they associate with, so that Scott has made his film look like a "ferret on crystal meth" (as one of the characters is described) doesn't bother me.