Jacknife

Saw this on cable back in the early 90's and loved it. Never saw it again until it showed up on cable again recently. Still find it a great Vietnam movie. Not sure why its not higher rated. I found everything about this film compelling. As a vet (not from Vietnam) I can relate to the situations brought by both Harris and De Niro. I can only imagine this film being more poignant now with our situation in Iraq. I wish this would be offered on cable more often for people to see. The human toll on our soldiers isn't left on the battlefield. Its brought home for the rest of there lives. And this film is one of many that brings that home in a very hard way. Excellent film.

It really is worth watching because of all the different characters in it.You can get something from each one. I've seen it 6/7 times and have not tired of it yet. It touches home with me because I was in the military at that time and know of the problems of the returning vet. If you weren't there,maybe this will help you to understand the ones that were.I'm still looking for that perfect woman that Ed Harris talks about. Watch it with your favorite girl and maybe you will find out that you have found her. Who says that Kathy Baker is not beautiful? Her inner beauty just glows here along with a girl next door kind of looks.I still say that De Nero is the best and this only shows it more. I'm only sorry that this is not yet available in my region in DVD and don't really know why.Those of you in regions that have it in DVD are lucky.

Okay kiddies, before there were people shooting laser beams out of their eyes in spandex, there were dramas like this. And the only heroic thing people did was to look out for their pals and forgive them and fulfill promises. And to be honest, that is all there needs to be. I absolutely was floored by this film, because it creeps up on you. Part "Coming Home" part "Marty" the movie is about learning to live after trauma. Regardless of the fact that this one is because of the Vietnam War, it could've been really about any tragic events where people are learning to move forward. And it's exciting to see Ed Harris, Robert DeNiro and SPECIAL kudos to Kathy Baker of knocking real drama out of the park. There is a revelation at the end that will pay off IF you invest yourself into a story just about people. I am baffled how this didn't get more notice back in 1989. This would easily take home many awards in 2021. Cheers to everyone involved.

JACKNIFE is a fine adaptation of Stephen Metcalfe's play 'Strange Snow' (the screenplay was also written by Metcalfe), sensitively directed by David Hugh Jones, that explores the too frequently forgotten effect of battle on veterans damaged permanently by the heinous cruelties of war. It is especially poignant to return to this 1989 film now as we watch the soldiers returning from the war in Iraq and the raw treatment they are receiving in our Veterans' Hospitals.

Three friends went off to the Vietnam War together and only two returned alive: the problem is that while both men suffered in battle the one David 'Highschool' Flannigan (Ed Harris) is so severely damaged by posttraumatic stress syndrome that he 'exists' in a drunken vacuum with his very plain schoolteacher sister Martha (Kathy Baker). As David deteriorates his buddy Joseph 'Jacknife' Megessey (Robert De Niro) returns to the town in an attempt to help his friend. In the course of events Jacknife at first offers succor to Martha and eventually the two date - at a Prom Martha must attend - and at that prom drunken David completely falls apart, destroying relics in the school and terrifying the townspeople and students. Jacknife makes Dave relive the moment in Vietnam when they lost their buddy and in doing so brings David to the point where he can begin his climb toward recovery. And the long-suffering Martha finds her needs tended by Jacknife, too.

All three actors give astonishingly fine performances: Ed Harris offers one of his most fully realized roles while De Niro and Baker maintain the high standards set by their careers. More people should help resurrect this all but forgotten film as it is a brittle reminder of the damages our wars bring to the men who fight them and to the families who receive them after battle's end. Highly recommended. Grady Harp

I cherish each and every frame of this beautiful movie. It is about regular people, people we all know, who suffer a little in their life and have some baggage to carry around. Just like all of us. Robert DeNiro, Ed Harris and Kathy Baker breathe life into their portrayals and are all excellent, but Harris is especially heartbreaking and therefore very real. You would swear he really is a trucker who drinks so he won't have to feel anything. Baker as his put-upon sister also has some delicate moments - when DeNiro gives her flowers in one scene, it seems like she was never given flowers before and probably wasn't. Very worthwhile.