Madness (Jacket, The)

Country of origin and year: Germany, USA, 2005 Genre: Drama, Thriller Screenplay: Marc Rocco, Massy Tadjedin Director: John Maybury Music: Brian Eno Cast: Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kris Kristofferson, Daniel Craig Medical themes: post-traumatic amnesia, hallucinations, psychiatric hospital Description: Jack Starks (played by Adrien Brody), an American soldier shot in the head during the Gulf War, miraculously survived. However, the injury left its mark on his psyche, which is why he needed psychological help after returning home. Upon returning home, he accidentally became entangled in a series of unfortunate events that led to him being accused of murdering a police officer. The court, however, ruled him insane, so he was sent not to prison but to a psychiatric hospital, under the care of Dr. Becker, a psychiatrist who employs highly controversial treatment methods. The soldier, drugged to the point of numbness, is periodically placed in a drawer in the hospital morgue for hours at a time, which causes him to hallucinate—the content of these hallucinations is his own future. It soon turns out that he was not Dr. Becker’s first patient of this kind, and each of the previous ones died under unexplained circumstances. Jack is aided by another doctor working at the psychiatric hospital, as well as a girl whom the soldier met shortly after returning home. The film’s action takes place on two levels: the real world and the world created by Jack’s hallucinations. A subplot deals with another method used in psychiatry: electroshock therapy. It must be admitted that the film is brutal at times, but this is what makes it feel authentic.