John Maybury’s time travel thriller The Jacket struggles with constant time changes and unorganized scene sequences.

Oscar winner Adrien Brody plays Jack Starks, a character whose flashes from his past and future jolt through his memory as he struggles to overcome injury-induced amnesia.

Starks’ memories become disjointed within the film, leaving viewers to try and piece elements together.

The film, which is based on a historical event, starts out with Starks surviving a gunshot to the head during his service in the Persian Gulf War of 1991.

After being hospitalized, Starks escapes death and ends up in his home state of Vermont, where, after a series of random and ultimately unfortunate events, ends up in court, being tried for the death of a police officer.

Starks is unable to piece people and events together as he struggles to remember what happened.

After watching his distorted face and listening to him stumble over partial explanations, the jury finds Starks innocent by reason of insanity, sentencing him to a psychiatric institution where his time travel phenomenon begins.

The straightjacket is Starks time portal, with help from Kris Kristofferson, as Dr. Becker, the leading psychiatrist who administers outlandish therapies to his mental patients.

These therapies include injecting narcotics, wrapping them into straightjackets and stuffing them into a pitch-black morgue-like drawer for hours, where they hallucinate in claustrophobic conditions.

Like a jacket that is missing its zipper, Maybury’s film has a purpose but needs better construction to deliver that purpose to its viewers.

A blend of Butterfly Effect, Memento and Bourne Identity, this film is enticing but needs restructuring.

Sarah Pollo can be reached at [email protected]