The Jacket

The Jacket

Year: 2014

Runtime: 9 mins

Language: German

Director: Patrick Vollrath

RomanceDrama

A boy meets a girl. It could be love. But there is this jacket, too. And the jacket will change everything…

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline & Setting – The Jacket (2014)

Explore the full timeline and setting of The Jacket (2014). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

1992–1993 and 2007

The narrative spans late 1992 into early 1993, including an unauthorized, experimental treatment that triggers time shifts. Jack's amnesia creates a fractured sense of past and future, as he migrates between the hospital and memories of the road. The plot returns to 2007, where the consequences of his actions reshape Jackie’s life and the perceived timeline.

Location

Vermont, United States

The story unfolds primarily in rural Vermont, with wintry roads and a stark, quiet atmosphere. Key settings include a dilapidated roadside encounter, a climate-controlled hospital ward, and the small-town backdrop that defines the characters. The environment emphasizes isolation and the contrasts between harsh winter landscapes and intimate emotional moments.

❄️ Vermont countryside 🏥 Mental institution 🚗 Roadside locations

Last Updated: October 14, 2025 at 03:57

Main Characters – The Jacket (2014)

Meet the key characters of The Jacket (2014), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Jack Starks

A Gulf War veteran haunted by amnesia, Jack endures a sequence of medical trials and time shifts as he tries to survive the hospital confinement and reach a chance at saving his life. Despite the memory gaps, he remains driven, compassionate, and resourceful, seeking meaning through the bonds he forms along the road. His encounters with Jackie reveal a resilience that pushes him toward risking everything for a better outcome.

🧠 Amnesia 🏥 Veteran/Patient ⏳ Time travel 💙 Compassion

Jackie

A young girl who is seen at the roadside diner where she works, and later grows into a nurse by 2007. She becomes central to Jack's motivation and the evolution of his fate, showing compassion and resilience as time unfolds. Her relationship with Jack drives the emotional core of the story.

👧 Hope 🏥 Nurse 💞 Relationships

Dr. Thomas Becker

The psychiatrist behind the unauthorized treatment, Becker's methods push the boundaries of ethics in pursuit of a cure. His actions set the stage for the time-travel experiment and the moral questions that follow. He embodies the unsettling tension between medical progress and personal responsibility.

🏥 Psychiatrist 💊 Experimental treatment 🧭 Ethics

Dr. Beth Lorenson

A physician who comes to believe Jack's time-travel experiences and helps guide the plan to reposition him within Jackie’s life. Her alliance with Jack's case becomes pivotal in navigating the future and influencing the past.

🏥 Doctor 🤝 Ally 🧭 Witness to time travel

Jackie's mother

The mother of Jackie, whom Jack warns about a bleak future through a letter, a warning that changes how the family fate unfolds in 2007. She survives the timeline shifts and plays a key role in enabling Jackie’s improved life.

👩‍👧 Mother 📝 Letter influencer 🕊️ Hope

Last Updated: October 14, 2025 at 03:57

Major Themes – The Jacket (2014)

Explore the central themes of The Jacket (2014), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🕰️ Time Travel

The plot hinges on Dr. Becker's experimental treatment, which sends Jack through years in a non-linear loop. Time travel is used to explore cause-and-effect, fate, and the possibility of changing outcomes. The shifts between 1992/1993 and 2007 reveal how choices extend or constrict a life. Though fantastical, the device serves to probe memory, regret, and hope.

🧠 Memory & Identity

Amnesia leaves Jack's sense of self fragmented and unreliable, driving his urgent need to piece together truth. The time jumps complicate who he is and what he owes to others, especially Jackie. The story treats memory as both a guide and a source of vulnerability, shaping trust and connection. The evolution of identity unfolds as past and future collide with present loyalties.

🎯 Fate & Choice

The film asks whether fate can be influenced by deliberate acts, letters, and acts of mercy. Jackie's mother receives a letter that alters her daughter's future, suggesting moral responsibility for intervention. The ending implies time can bend toward a better path, yet it remains anchored in the consequences of past decisions and the hope that outcomes can improve.

Last Updated: October 14, 2025 at 03:57

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Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Mind-Bending Mysteries Like The Jacket

Characters question their sanity while navigating fractured timelines and lost memories.If you liked the psychological unraveling and time-travel mystery of The Jacket, explore these movies. They feature characters grappling with fractured identities, unreliable memories, and alternate realities in similarly tense and thought-provoking narratives.

mind-bendingdisorientingpsychologicalmysteriousanxiousreflectiveunreliable narrator

Narrative Summary

Stories in this thread often feature a protagonist who becomes untethered from linear reality, forcing them to solve a personal or existential mystery with incomplete information. The narrative structure is typically non-linear, mirroring the character's fragmented perception.

Why These Movies?

This thread groups films that share a core theme of investigating reality through a distorted lens, using techniques like unreliable narration and temporal shifts to create a deeply immersive and anxious viewing experience.

Claustrophobic Thrillers of Trauma Like The Jacket

Stories of characters trapped physically or mentally, confronting trauma and fighting for sanity.For viewers seeking the intense, claustrophobic atmosphere of The Jacket, this thread collects movies about wrongful confinement, experimental treatments, and the heavy psychological toll of trauma. These are tense, emotionally heavy dramas.

claustrophobictenseanxiousmelancholicpsychological traumaconfinementlonelyheavy

Narrative Summary

The core journey involves a character enduring extreme psychological or physical confinement, which acts as a catalyst for exploring deep-seated trauma. The conflict is often internal, pitting the will to survive against institutional or psychological forces.

Why These Movies?

Movies in this thread are united by a palpable sense of claustrophobia and a deep dive into the psychology of trauma. They share a high-intensity, heavy emotional weight and often feature bleak or bittersweet resolutions.

Unlock the Full Story of The Jacket

Don't stop at just watching — explore The Jacket in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what The Jacket is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

The Jacket Summary

Read a complete plot summary of The Jacket, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

The Jacket Summary

The Jacket Timeline

Track the full timeline of The Jacket with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

The Jacket Timeline

The Jacket Spoiler-Free Summary

Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of The Jacket that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.

The Jacket Spoiler-Free Summary

More About The Jacket

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about The Jacket: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About The Jacket