By the time Jacknife arrived in theaters in 1989, Hollywood had spent more than a decade examining what happened to American soldiers after Vietnam. Movies like The Deer Hunter, Coming Home, First Blood and Birdy had already explored the physical and emotional damage left behind by the war, so Jacknife wasn't exactly breaking new ground.
What makes it interesting is how small it feels.
Directed by David Jones, Jacknife stars Robert De Niro, Ed Harris and Kathy Baker in a story about two Vietnam veterans and the woman whose life has become entangled with one of them. Dave (Harris) lives with his sister Martha (Baker), who has spent years taking care of him. When Dave's old Army buddy Megs (De Niro) returns, he disrupts their routine and starts forcing both of them to confront things they'd rather leave alone.
It's an actor-driven drama about three people who have stopped moving forward in different ways, and I think it's worth another look.
Watch the Jacknife Video
5 Reasons to Watch Jacknife
#5. A Different Kind of Post-Vietnam Drama
One of the things I appreciated about Jacknife is that it approaches the Vietnam veteran story from a much smaller angle than some of the more famous films in the genre. There are no missions, conspiracies or elaborate action sequences. Instead, the movie focuses on what happens when people return to their everyday lives and discover that they're no longer equipped to participate in them.
It's easy to look at Jacknife as a companion piece to The Deer Hunter, especially with De Niro appearing in both movies. While The Deer Hunter spends a considerable amount of time examining the friend who gets left behind in Vietnam, Jacknife is about someone who comes home but never really moves forward.
Dave has spent years drinking, working and allowing his sister to take care of him. Megs, who experienced many of the same things, has decided that he's going to try to participate in life again. He goes to veterans' groups, holds down a job and reaches out to people. He's still damaged, but he's making an effort. In a way, Megs is going back to rescue his friend, only this time the place he's trying to rescue him from is the life Dave has built since coming home.
#4. Robert De Niro Is Surprisingly Lovable
When people talk about Robert De Niro's great performances, they tend to bring up characters like Travis Bickle, Jake LaMotta or Jimmy Conway. Those are tremendous performances, but Megs is a very different kind of character.
He's kind of a goofball. He talks too much, eats too much and has absolutely no idea how to charm a woman. There's something almost childlike about the way he throws himself into conversations and situations, and I found myself really enjoying his company.
Underneath that exuberance, though, you can see someone who's working incredibly hard to keep moving forward. It's possible that all of that oddball energy is a survival strategy, a way of making sure he doesn't fall back into the same darkness that's consumed Dave.
That makes the small victories particularly satisfying. Watching Megs prepare for a date is one of the cutest things I've seen on screen all year, and his transformation for prom night is absolutely dashing.
De Niro is tremendous here, especially when he finally confronts Dave about the things neither man wants to discuss. If you've only seen De Niro playing tough guys, this is a performance worth seeking out.
#3. Three Excellent Actors Are All This Movie Needs
Jacknife was adapted by Stephen Metcalfe from his stage play Strange Snow, and you can definitely feel its theatrical origins. Most of the movie is essentially a three-hander between De Niro, Ed Harris and Kathy Baker, with the drama coming from the way these characters communicate, or more often, fail to communicate.
Martha has spent years looking after Dave. She cooks for him, covers for him and absorbs his moods. Somewhere along the way, her entire life has become organized around keeping her brother functioning, even though it's becoming increasingly clear that what she's doing isn't helping him get better.
When Megs arrives, he starts asking questions that Martha doesn't necessarily want to answer. At what point does helping someone become enabling them? How much of your own life are you supposed to sacrifice for someone you love?
There are shades of Ordinary People in the family's inability to communicate and Tender Mercies in the way damaged adults attempt to rebuild their lives. It also reminded me of You Can Count on Me, particularly in the relationship between siblings who love each other but have very different ideas about how to live.
Sometimes you don't need much more than three excellent actors playing off one another, and Jacknife is a good reminder of that.
#2. The Awkward, Grown-Up Romance
One of my favorite elements of the movie is the romance that develops between Megs and Martha.
These are not two smooth people who know exactly what to say to each other. Megs tries too hard while Martha is cautious and not especially confident when it comes to romance. Their conversations are awkward, sometimes uncomfortable and occasionally very funny.
What I like is that they don't speak like movie stars who have been handed beautifully polished romantic dialogue. They stumble through conversations, misread signals and occasionally say things that make you wonder how either of them has ever successfully been on a date.
It feels surprisingly contemporary, almost like watching two people trying to navigate online dating without having any idea what they're doing.
If you like grown-up romances like Enough Said, Crossing Delancey, Something's Gotta Give or Hope Springs, I think there's a good chance you'll appreciate this part of Jacknife.
This isn't a movie about rediscovering young love. It's about two adults discovering that maybe they still have time for something, and that's a pretty lovely thing to watch.
#1. Ed Harris Is Tremendous
As much as I enjoyed De Niro and Baker, the performance that's going to stick with me is Ed Harris as Dave.
Dave is a miserable drunk who has spent years carrying around an enormous amount of anger, guilt, grief and resentment. He doesn't have anywhere productive to direct those feelings, so he folds inward and takes them out on the people closest to him.
Harris plays him like a pot that's been boiling for years. You can sense the pressure building almost immediately, particularly when Dave sees Megs clumsily flirting with Martha near the beginning of the movie.
Eventually, that pressure has to go somewhere.
The movie's high school prom sequence is one of the most memorable scenes I've watched this year. Dave enters the school drunk, angry and completely unstable before having an emotional meltdown in the hallway of a place he once proudly walked as a teenager. Harris is absolutely tremendous, and the sequence makes all of the resentment and grief he's been carrying impossible to ignore.
It also brings me back to the movie's title. I keep thinking about a jackknifed truck, something that's folded in on itself and can't move forward. Dave has done exactly that, and Martha has stopped moving along with him.
Megs is called Jacknife in the film, so maybe I'm giving the symbolism more credit than it deserves. Still, I think the image fits. Ultimately, this is a movie about three people trying to straighten themselves out enough to start moving again.
Who Should Watch Jacknife?
If you enjoy small-scale, actor-driven dramas, Jacknife is worth adding to your watchlist. It's especially easy to recommend to fans of De Niro and Harris who want to see them doing something different from their better-known roles.
Fans of The Deer Hunter, Coming Home and Tender Mercies will find plenty to appreciate, but I'd also recommend it to people who enjoy relationship dramas like Enough Said or You Can Count on Me.
The movie isn't reinventing anything, and some of its emotional beats are familiar. What makes it worthwhile is how believable these three people feel, even when they don't know how to communicate with one another.
Where to Watch Jacknife (1989)
Jacknife is available on Blu-ray at the link below.
Prefer to Listen?
If you'd rather listen to this recommendation, the audio version of this Force Five episode is available below.
Jacknife on the Force Five Top 5 Radar
Top 5 Movie Freakouts
Ed Harris's meltdown at the high school prom would absolutely be in contention for this list. It's the kind of scene where a character has spent the entire movie keeping everything bottled up and finally reaches the point where he can't hold it together anymore.
Michael Douglas in Falling Down, Jack Nicholson in The Shining and Peter Finch in Network are all strong contenders too. I'd have a pretty hard time narrowing this one down to five.
Top 5 Post-Vietnam American Films
This would be an extremely competitive list, especially with movies like Coming Home, First Blood, Rolling Thunder and The Deer Hunter in contention.
I don't know that Jacknife would ultimately make the final five, but I appreciate that it examines the aftermath of Vietnam through ordinary people trying to live ordinary lives. It doesn't need a huge story to make its point.
More Force Five
Looking for another overlooked movie or an actor-driven drama? Here are a few more Force Five recommendations worth checking out.
Bang the Drum Slowly (1973)
Another overlooked Robert De Niro performance, built around friendship, compassion and the things men struggle to say to one another.
Brooklyn’s Finest (2009)
Another serious, actor-driven drama about damaged adults trying to navigate lives that aren’t going particularly well.
The Whisper Man (2026)
More De Niro, along with another story about family relationships, buried damage and people trying to figure out how to move forward.
Jason Kleeberg is the creator and host of Force Five, an AI-free movie recommendation series built around five reasons to watch. A former video store clerk, screenwriter, filmmaker, Telly Award winner and physical-media collector, Jason covers new releases, cult films, horror, action, martial arts and overlooked movies.
