Jacknife

1989

Drama / War

11
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 69% · 13 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 48% · 1K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.4/10 10 7062 7.1K

Director

David Hugh Jones Photo
David Hugh Jones

Top cast

Robert De Niro Photo
Robert De Niro as Megs
Ed Harris Photo
Ed Harris as Dave
Elizabeth Franz Photo
Elizabeth Franz as Pru Buckman
Jessalyn Gilsig Photo
Jessalyn Gilsig as His Girlfriend
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
948.04 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 42 min
Seeds 4
1.72 GB
1920*1080
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 42 min
Seeds 10

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by hitchcockthelegend 7 / 10

Dave, Megs and Martha.

Jacknife is directed by David Jones and adapted to screenplay by Stephen Metcalfe from his own play Strange Snow. It stars Robert De Niro, Ed Harris and Kathy Baker. Music is by Bruce Broughton and cinematography by Brian West.De Niro and Harris play two Vietnam War veterans trying to come to terms with their lives post the war. Things are further complicated when De Niro gets romantically involved with Harris sister played by Baker.Wonderfully sedate and intimate, Jacknife, whilst not creating anything new in the "coming home from Nam" genre of film, is somewhat refreshing in how it relies on dialogue and believable character interactions. Some clichés do find their way into the play later in the day as Harris' character starts to come out of is troubled shell, but this is mostly a thoughtful treatment of loneliness and the on going effects of the war. The three up top performances are well delivered, with De Niro unsurprisingly carrying the film with ease.A box office flop on release, there's a good chance that Jones' film came too late in the Vietnam War movie cycle. It's also safe to say that the slow pace and the dialogue heavy nature of it made it only appealing to a certain demographic of film lovers. It's worth seeking out now as an anti-dote to blunderbuss blockbusters, because it's good film making that has a story that is touching and often humorous, and for many of a certain era, it's all too real. 7/10
Reviewed by view_and_review 7 / 10

Helping a brother in need

War is not fun... or least it shouldn't be. Whoever it doesn't leave physically scarred it leaves emotionally, mentally, and psychologically scarred. Some have deeper scars than others.Joseph "Megs" Megasy (Robert De Niro) was scarred and he was working daily to heal. David (Ed Harris) was also scarred, but he turned to the bottle for his healing. The two of them were part of the same unit with a third friend whom they lost in Vietnam. It affected them both deeply and it showed.Megs was determined to reach out and grab a hold of Dave no matter what. He was so determined that I didn't know what to expect from Megs. The movie started with Megs banging on Dave's door at the crack of dawn waking up the entire neighborhood. I thought for sure that Megs was going to be an untamable loose cannon capable of great harm. I was wrong. There was a method to his madness, and it was in the name of helping another veteran in need.I liked "Jacknife" a lot. This is probably my favorite movie dealing exclusively with mental and emotional recovery from Vietnam. There were other post-Vietnam movies like "Deerhunter" and a few others I can't readily recall, but this has to be my favorite. It showed the tragic effect the war had on those soldiers without being too tragic. That is to say that the vets weren't robbing banks, or killing people, or committing suicide--that was a tragedy I didn't want to see.There was also a soft side to "Jacknife" as Megs developed an adult yet romantic relationship with Martha (Kathy Baker), Dave's sister. This was no fireworks upon first sight, or a deeply passionate romance, rather it was a slowly kindled fire that never blazed but burned quietly.The message of "Jacknife" was clear: get veterans the help they need. Part of that needed help is commiserating with other vets. Maybe, just maybe, they need their brothers in arms more post-war than they did during war.
Reviewed by lee_eisenberg 7 / 10

there is no running away from a harrowing experience

David Jones's "Jacknife" basically looks at how war messes people up. Megs (Robert DeNiro) and Davey (Ed Harris) try to push forward with their lives, but their experience in Vietnam will color their existence forever. This becomes all too apparent with the incident during the prom.I understand that this movie is based on a play. I've never seen the play, so I can't compare it. What I can say is that DeNiro and Harris put on intense performances, as does Kathy Baker. This is the sort of movie that hits you like a brick in the face. It's not a masterpiece, but worth seeing as a look at what had become of the Vietnam vets in the US. To this day, we still haven't gotten over that war (and we're nowhere near getting over any of the wars launched amid the so-called war on terrorism).Watch for an early appearance of Charles S. Dutton, and a young Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri on "Glee").
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