|
Depressed because his starlet girlfriend drops him when he's accused of being a communist,
screenwriter Pete Appleton (Jim Carrey) gets drunk and loses control of his car, which plunges off a bridge.
With a bad cut on his forehead, he is discovered on the beach the next morning by dog-walking Stan (James Whitmore) and taken into town for some food and medical attention, as he has no memory of who he is or how he got there. Every adult in town, however, thinks he looks sort of familiar, until old moviehouse owner Harry Trimble (Martin Landau) sees him—and announces with conviction that the amnesiac Pete is his son Luke returned from the dead after nine years. Luke's virtual resurrection enlivens the town—which lost over 60 of its sons in the war and had fallen into depression since then—thus everybody embraces him in welcome, including his girlfriend Adele Stanton (Laurie Holden). Now with no past, Pete begins to live as Luke until his memory begins to flicker back to reality. This is where Pete's identity crisis spawns problems for him and disillusions the whole town.
The Majestic is
unabashedly patriotic, dripping with romance over love of America. While the movie is set in the early 1950s, there is reason to believe that its proud patriotism is a
strong statement meant as a reminder aimed at today's America when its leaders believe that war and violence is the only way of protecting the country.
Far from being a sober political film, The Majestic demonstrates a non-violent but powerful patriotism to an audience subscribing to rat-tat-tat Rambo patriotism.
Subtly it throws the limelight on decent, small-town folks who uphold traditional American values, and offers nostalgic glimpses of their stress-free life: diners where everybody knows everybody, live bands at public dances, walks down tree-lined streets. Carrey (whose film career has so far been built on comic roles and computer-enhanced visuals) is remarkable in his dual role, especially in the more dramatic character of Luke as he passionately defends himself, invoking the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
The Majestic is effective in that it is able to drive home a serious point without sounding preachy—in fact
it gets away with mild comedy.
For the principles it espouses, it is a fine film to see, even for non-Americans who are well aware of the American government's reaction to one of the more shameful periods of US history.
(Date reviewed: March 22, 2002)
|
