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Review: |
Anyone
looking for an anecdote to the attacks on our nation on September
11th need look no further than "The Majestic," a film that
captures America's innocence and moral virtue better than
any movie of the year. Director Frank Darabont helms the picture
with many of his usual trademarks, while the ensemble cast,
led by Jim Carrey in his most winning role to date, brings
the movie's heart and soul home with effective results. The
movie is like a breath of fresh air, a morality-based fable
that comes at a time when our country seems to need one the
most. ***
The movies
avoids type-casting by placing Carrey in the role of Peter
Appleton, a Hollywood screenwriter who wants nothing more
than to see his B-list scripts becomes A-list successes. At
a time when the communist threat was ever-present in the United
States, nothing, not even screenwriters, could escape the
possibility of being blacklisted as Red spies and allies.
When Peter's script "Ashes to Ashes" is seized by the FBI,
he heads for a local pub, gets drunk, and goes for a drive,
with a stuffed monkey as his sole companion. ***
This icy
look at his big-city life is interrupted when a fateful accident
on a bridge places him on a beach near the town of Lawton,
stricken with amnesia and a scar on his forehead. Peter is
later picked up by a local resident and taken into town, where
citizen Harry Trimble (Martin Landau) mistakes him for his
long-lost son Luke, believed to be dead as a result of World
War II. Soon, the whole town is in a joyous uproar at their
hero's return; Peter, having no recollection of his previous
Los Angeles existence or the threat to his career, accepts
this as his life. ***
At the
heart of the town is Trimble's one-screen movie theater, The
Majestic, which he hopes to rebuild now that his son has returned
home. Luke (Peter) finds his inspiration to remember in Adele
(Laurie Holden), who shows him around town and relates stories
of his teenage years before the war. As their relationship
begins to rekindle, he warms to his past life, and agrees
to help reopen the theater, unaware of the manhunt for him
and the threat of regaining his memory. ***
It is
in roles such as this that Jim Carrey is at his most admirable,
combining comedy and emotion with incredible ability. As Peter/Luke,
he is given the opportunity to broaden his acting, and he
capitalizes on that chance with a performance that is both
moving and uplifting. His leading lady, Laurie Holden, employs
real charm and charisma in her role as Adele; it helps, too,
that she embodies the wholesome physical appeal of a 50's
lady, which provides a very nice chemistry for Luke and Adele's
calendar-art romance. ***
Just as
his cast works its magic, Frank Darabont effectively infuses
the film with an emotional connection as he did with "The
Shawshank Redemption" and "The Green Mile," which also relied
on character-based emotion to relate a powerful story. In
"The Majestic," the same formula applies: Darabont uses this
to juxtapose two very different ways of life, so that Lawton
is almost like an escape from the harsh realities of the outside
world. As we witness the unfolding of Luke's life as Peter
struggles to remember it, we find ourselves longing for his
acceptance of this richer, more fulfilling life, just as we
are also dreading what we know must come: his remembrance
of his life before the accident. ***
The town
of Lawton, as it appears in the film, is a thriving center
of American nostalgia and virtue, from the heroic sons lost
to the war to the pictures in the windows of businesses and
homes as a reminder of their courage. The town is a portrait
of America's innocence gone by, a type of place where everyone
knew everyone else, where the death of one meant the grieving
of all, where the courage of its brave young soldiers was
something to be revered and respected, and where the singing
of our national anthem actually had meaning and feeling behind
the words. ***
The ability
of "The Majestic" to portray our country's most admirable
traits is reminiscent of the films of yesteryear, especially
those of Frank Capra, famous for instilling these characteristics
into his many works. Some will argue that this film is too
Capra-esque for its own good, but I must say that I was moved
by its celebration of life and unity, as well as the lesson
it teaches about our country in its well-thought conclusion.
In a time when our country is in great need of patriotism
and morals, this film delivers both in a pleasing fashion.
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