The Majestic (2001)

The Majestic (2001)

There aren’t many directors I adore or who have never disappointed me. Of course, David Fincher has made almost nothing but films I really like, and the same can be said of Steven Spielberg. Zack Snyder has made at least three films that are very good, if not excellent. I can say the same of Bryan Singer. The late Harold Ramis made at least five that I adore. And if I had to add more names, I would probably include Sam Mendes, Paul Thomas Anderson, Alan Parker, Sam Raimi, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch…

All this to say that Frank Darabont is clearly one of them for me. In any case, his three collaborations with Stephen King have each resulted in masterpieces.

But maybe that’s the problem! The Majestic , which has nothing to do with Stephen King, is not as good and much less memorable than The Shawshank Redemption (1995), The Green Mile (1999) or The Mist (2007). These three adaptations are among the best stories brought to the screen based on books by the grand master of horror. The Majestic was made after the first two and before the third. It’s as if Darabont wanted to try something different, but realised he needed to quickly return to his winning formula.

Nevertheless, this director manages to create a universe, settings that represent the simplicity of people who don’t take themselves too seriously, but who have their problems, like everyone else. The dialogues are always interesting and the staging is excellent, very pleasant with a very jazzy soundtrack.

However, some scenes are less interesting than others and I’m not convinced by the ending.

One thing bothers me: I’m surprised that Jim Carrey‘s serious performance hasn’t been talked about much. There’s been a lot of talk about Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), The Number 23 (2007), and The Truman Show (1998), even though he wasn’t that serious in those films. Admittedly, he wasn’t like he was in Dumb and Dumber (1994), Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995), The Cable Guy (1996), Liar Liar (1997) and so on… but he was still the Carrey we know and love!

OK! But this film was quite unusual for Jim Carrey at the time. It wasn’t the usual ‘rubber face’. In any case, it’s a rather moving film. I can understand those who, even several weeks after seeing it, still had tears in their eyes. It’s still a good film with a real message. Its failure at the box office is undoubtedly due to its excessive length. It shouldn’t have been longer than two hours.

Yes, some films are long… but that doesn’t make this one a masterpiece!

Beautiful, imaginative, with a lovely ending, it’s a real Friday night film!
It’s worth watching for true film buffs.

Admittedly, there are quite a few similarities between Man on the Moon (1999), The Truman Show and The Majestic. As a result, Jim Carrey’s detractors must have thought that viewers would be completely taken in by this new style.

But there will always be negative people who will try to destroy everything!

Because you could also say that this film is nine and a half hours of good feelings and American morals hammered home to the point of alienating the audience, with unbearable propaganda about the beautiful and perfect American life of the 1950s, cradled by patriotism, courage, family and friendship, in a quiet little town where life is good.

The same people who make these kinds of comments will go on to say that it’s crazy how Americans convince themselves of the merits of their society and idolise this period in their history.

And why not say that this is yet another re-enactment of the 1950s, like the one or two that come out every year, all identical, and that there must be a single technical team for the whole of the USA!

Yes, we could go on like this for a long time and see it from a completely different angle.

It is clear that this film is not for those who are afraid or allergic to being overwhelmed by tedious good feelings, endless romantic love stories, and extreme silliness, sentimentality, schmaltz, and saccharine sweetness.

And Jim Carrey? Can we criticise him here? Of course! We could say that, with his infinite talent, he plays out the drama with a complete lack of empathy for the central character, while remaining distant from the audience.

See? It’s easy to imitate the detractors!

This film isn’t perfect, and I’ll summarise my thoughts.

After two exceptional feature films, Frank Darabont pays homage to the golden age of Hollywood, coupled with a hymn to freedom. The whole thing is often rather clumsy and moralising, especially in the finale, but the actors are convincing and their characters endearing.

After 1 hour and 45 minutes, the film completely changes direction with a transition that is, unfortunately, a little poorly handled. This second part completely takes us out of the film, which was already a little too predictable in its main plot (especially since it is not the most original).

The film’s title is not appropriate. Unfortunately, The Majestic is more about communism in the 1950s, the Second World War and even patriotism than it is about cinema. So I came away feeling a little disappointed. It’s sad that the main subject of the film is so secondary. It’s a shame, because the context of the 1950s was perfect for paying tribute to the golden age of cinema and revealing a side of Hollywood that was typical of those years. The film plays too much on emotion against a backdrop of patriotism.

A nice little film full of good feelings, which can sometimes be pleasant to watch, even if the conclusion may seem a bit naive with its highly artificial happy ending.