tieman64 "Look, if you think any American official is going to tell you the truth, then you're stupid." - Arthur Sylvester (Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs) Ed Harris and Kathy Baker are quietly effective in "Jacknife", an otherwise superficial film by director David Jones.A cross between "Deer Hunter", "In Country", "Coming Home" and the countless post-war readjustment melodramas of the 1980s, "Jacknife" stars Robert De Niro and Ed Harris as a couple of Vietnam veterans struggling to overcome their traumatic war experiences. As is typical of American movies "about" the Vietnam War, this bloody conflict is reduced to "poor American soldiers" and much romanticised madness. The plight of the Vietnamese is ignored, the political context of the conflict is jettisoned and the war boils down to self-pitying, working class white dudes who struggle with scars. And as with "In Country", released the same year, Jones' message is both familiar and dubious: "you will never quite understand what they went through", we are told, but "be assured that they nevertheless went through it for you". Like "In Country" and "The Best Years of Our Lives", Jones' film then ends with our wounded warriors being healed by a little love and romance.Still, the plights of veterans is a serious issue. Tens of thousands of Vietnam veterans died from suicide, many more suffered from post traumatic stress disorders, many struggled to readjust to civilian life and today similar conflicts in the Middle East see approximately 22 US soldiers committing suicide a day. Along these narrow lines, "Jacknife" is a sincere and touching film. Harris in particular is very good. Unsubtly scored by Bruce Broughton.6/10 – Worth one viewing. See "Walker" and "Decision Before Dawn".

Wuchak Released in 1989, "Jacknife" tells the story of Megs (Robert De Niro), a Vietnam vet who looks up an old war buddy in Connecticut. The buddy is Dave (Ed Harris), a bachelor and drunkard who lives with his sister, Martha (Kathy Baker), in their inherited parent's house in the old neighborhood. Dave & Martha's situation has degenerated into lifeless habit and stagnation. Megs doesn't look up Dave because he necessarily wants to but because he has to -- they have a longstanding date to go fishing, a date with much significance.Kathy is a biology teacher and the classic enabler, a one-woman support system enabling her brother to continue in his miserable cycle of booze/hangover/booze. She's trapped and her guilt will not let her escape, and she knows shes trapped.There's a scene of Kathy leaving the school at the end of her work day where she goes out of her way to stop at the trophy case and looks at old pictures of her brother when he was a high school hero with much potential. You can feel what she feels as she looks at those pictures.Dave warns Kathy about Megs -- he's half crazy and has spent a lot of time in the slammer on assault charges, but Kathy instinctively senses that Megs is their catalyst to change, their "delivererer," carbuncles and all. Yet Megs needs change as well, and Kathy is HIS deliverer. Megs is an eccentric outcast and Kathy is his golden connection to a sense of family and community, things he's been running from since he got out of the war 20 years earlier.Kathy is a bit of a plain Jane. Her stagnated lifestyle is reflected on her face. No one invited her to her Prom back in high school and who knows the last time she had a date. Yet on her initial meeting with Megs he just happens to mention she's pretty. This immediately changes her demeanor. When was the last time she felt the warmth of a genuine compliment concerning her looks? She naturally starts to develop love for this man -- a deeply flawed man -- something she hasn't felt for a long, long time, perhaps never. And she slowly starts to blossom."Jacknife" is the perfect antidote to modern cgi-laden drivel like "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and "Iron Man." Don't get me wrong, those types of films have their place, like when you're in the mood for mindless entertainment -- goofy one-liners and all. By contrast, "Jacknife" is meaningful and character-driven; suspense is created via raw, unpredictable emotion and outstanding acting (by all three members of the triangle). Take, for instance, the truck-driving scene where Dave and Megs have a confrontation. Megs starts to put the meddle to the peddle as they drive down an incline. Dave had implied that Megs was crazy and now Megs is making a statement. Or is he? Who knows what he's doing?! The truck goes faster and faster and the viewer is uncertain if this lunatic is going to kill 'em both or what.This scene is potent because it strikes the viewer as REAL. For me it brought to memory a similar situation when my wife and I were traveling through the heart of West Virginia. We drove in silence for a long time, perhaps two hours, and then I completely exploded, screaming at the top of my lungs -- spit and tears flying. Yet I wasn't yelling at her -- not at all -- it went much deeper than that. We were flying down the highway faster and faster while I continued to vent in raw emotion. Then my wife, the epitome of calm and stable, screams out, "IF YOU'RE GOING TO WRECK MAKE SURE YOU KILL US BOTH!!!" That was almost four years ago and, thankfully, nothing like it has happened since. Why do I bring this experience up? Because "Jacknife," albeit a tad stagy (which is natural since it was based on a play), rings so true.The film was shot on location in the heart of Connecticut in Meriden, Cromwell and Wethersfield (the diner scene). The story obviously takes place in November and the authentic locations are great.BOTTOM LINE: If you're in the mood for a meaningful, character-driven drama you can't go wrong with "Jacknife." GRADE: A-

martincooper446 Who votes in these ratings? "Jacknife" is a beautifully acted, brilliantly observed piece of work, with actors on top of their game, especially Ed Harris and the peerless Robert DeNiro(please don't mention Marlon Brando in the same breath of this man-see "Taxi Driver" for confirmation of this point). Is it a 'mundane' movie because it doesn't have sex/meaningless action/nudity in it. This movie is about the complexities of the characters involved. Ed Harris makes you feel every moment with him and his emotional outburst towards the end is heartbreaking. The part where he orders a young man in a bar to take off his army clothes is a wonderful observation of how fashion and the movies exploit tragic situations and how frustrated real men must feel to see a young upstart sporting military attire. While we are on this subject, "Casino" 7.8 out of 10? One of the greatest films of all time, from one of the greatest directors, starring THE greatest movie actor of all time, with the scariest film psychotic gangster ever, only warrants just above average? COME ON!!!!!

Hang_All_Drunkdrivers You've seen crap like this before. De Niro plays an ex nam vet who is an extrovert and likes to meddle in every one's life. Harris is another nam vet but he is totally bonkers and yells at everyone all the time. Talk about overacting. Then there is kathy baker who plays harris' sis and de niro's girl friend. I liked her. She's cast as a 35 year old school teacher spinster who is less than beautiful but still attractive. Not much plot and of course no action. This is NOT about Vietnam, just the after effects. If you want to see people killed or beat up, skip this flik. This is for the kitchen-sink drama crowd only.PS - one thing i really hated is the way de niro and harris drive their cars 90 mph everywhere they go. Innocent people are killed by speeders everyday and there's no need to glorify such a deadly crime.