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Jacknife

R 1989 1h 42m Drama List
64% Tomatometer 14 Reviews 48% Audience Score 1,000+ Ratings
A Vietnam-veteran car mechanic (Robert De Niro) awkwardly romances his troubled war buddy's (Ed Harris) shy sister (Kathy Baker). Read More Read Less
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Jacknife

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Critics Reviews

View All (14) Critics Reviews
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Jacknife redeems it in the specifics of the performances. De Niro, Harris and Baker seem to be oblivious to the "message," and lose themselves in the personalities of their characters. And so the movie works. Rated: 3/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review David Cornelius DVDTalk.com Jacknife works best when illustrating a quiet grace. Rated: 4/5 Feb 27, 2007 Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com Rated: 4/5 Oct 10, 2005 Full Review Michael Szymanski International Press Academy Rated: 1/5 Sep 21, 2005 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com This Vietnam vet melodrama is extremely well acted by De Niro, Ed Harris, and Kathy Baker. Rated: B- Jun 30, 2005 Full Review Steve Crum Kansas City Kansan Gritty De Niro in hard core yarn Rated: 3/5 Oct 23, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (46) audience reviews
jwcdood JACKKNIFE isn't anything groundbreaking or monumental, but it makes its point about PTSD. Ed Harris's typically realistic and superb performance; Robert Dinero's very (always very) solid character portrayal and Kathy Baker's also perfectly realistic rendition of a shy, smalltown wallflower who has more heartfelt sensitivity than the typically "popular" types makes this moving truly heart touching. All this comes from excellent direction and combines for a flick that really works! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 12/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Oscar worthy performances by both De Niro and Harris.How the academy missed this one still puzzles me to this day. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member Joseph "Megs" Megessey (Robert De Niro) is a Vietnam war veteran suffering post-Vietnam stress syndrome who is having trouble fitting in with society. He takes on the responsibility of drawing Dave (Ed Harris), a fellow veteran now an alcoholic, out of his shell by coaxing him to enjoy life again, as well as urging him to face up to some of his darker memories. Megs finds himself attracted to Dave's meek sister Martha (Kathy Baker), who lives with Dave and looks after him. This attraction leads to a love affair, much to Dave's disapproval... We get really strong performances from Ed Harris (magic as the selfdestructive Dave), Robert De Niro and Kathy Baker in this slowpaced but a bit forgotten character-driven Vietnam drama. "Jackknife" is well worth a watch in my opinion. Trivia: The movie was part of cycle of films released in 1989, revolving around Vietnam War veterans trying to adjust their lives back at home. The other films were "In Country" (1989) with Bruce Willis and "Welcome Home" (1989) with Kris Kristofferson. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review steve d De Niro is especially good but there is not really any weak links in this powerful film. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member A good drama dealing with PTSD from the Vietnam war between 2 buddies who lost their good friend in the war and the growing relationship one with the others sister. I really liked this movie when it came out and still holds up today. Being a big DeNiro fan, I think it's one of his greats. He plays a likable character who although went through the trauma of the war, deals with it sometimes with his sense of humor in a positive outcome. Plus a couple of vintage Chevy Chevelle's are in the movie too! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Doesn't become completely chaotic which is good. There is resolve between all characters. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Jacknife

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis A Vietnam-veteran car mechanic (Robert De Niro) awkwardly romances his troubled war buddy's (Ed Harris) shy sister (Kathy Baker).
Director
David Jones
Producer
Robert Schaffel, Carol Baum
Screenwriter
Stephen Metcalfe
Production Co
Kings Road Entertainment, Cineplex Odeon Films, Sandollar-Schaffel Productions
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 1, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA)
$1.6M
Runtime
1h 42m
Sound Mix
Surround
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