Jacket

During class we discussed a lot of the Christian symbolism in the film. I missed most of it when I was watching because a bunch of shamanic symbolism kept jumping out at me. Right from the start Jack tells us about the first time he died. In many shamanic traditions the shaman must undergo a difficult journey of initiation that is likened to a spiritual destruction and rebirth. It jumped out at me and colored my perception for the rest of the film.
Shamans have a dualistic nature; They encompass the qualities of both genders and traverse both the material world and the spirit world. Throughout the film there are little things that represent this nature. For example, when Jack arrives at the ward they give him many pills to take, presumably to help him, but while taking the pills Jack was puffing away on a cigarette. One drug benign, the other harmful, but each taken with the other.
The pattern is not limited to prop choice. There was a lovely bit of cinematography at Jackie's house involving the fridge. After Jack looks in the fridge he closes the door and opens the freezer. The camera perspective is positioned in such a way that it gives the effect of there being a single door being closed and opened while the contents changed. I figured it had something to do with spiritual travel and began to suspect Jackie of being a spirit instead of a person from the mundane world.

- Patrick Ballard