Review of The Majestic (2001) by Cameron J — 09 Jun 2011

I thought that they were going to play on Hollywood more, because when I think majestic, I think of Hollywood. It's crazy enough to be some type of majestic habitat. There, you can find such fascinating speciments as the "Drunketh Usetobeus Hottus". You might know this creature better by its common name: "Lindsay Lohan". It's much more dangerous than the traditional "Usetobeus Hottus" or "Cameron Diaz". But getting back to business, this film suffers from a lot of familiar elements and sentimentality that feels a touch forced at some points.

Now, let's touch on the length. When I heard that it was overdrawn and dull, I found myself saying "Well, that's what they said about 'The Green Mile'." Now, while this film is not as well-paced, Darabont still once again, to me, defied the critics' gossip. Some of the best dramas are lengthy, elaborate, captivating and leave you feeling like it couldn't be long enough. This film features almost all of these ingredients for a great, lengthy drama. I say "almost all" because it falls a bit short on the "couldn't be long enough" factor. It does slow down and drags a deal of scenes out. In spite of this, I find the long and complex story to be predominantly decently-paced and captivating, keeping me fully invested in the compelling story and characters.

Still, it wasn't only the story and Darabont's direction that made the film so captivating. The actors truly deserve some major credit. But more on that later. Right now, let's discuss the other strengths behind the film, such as solid cenimatography, fine production design, good writing and effective comic relief. The film particularly boasts strong characters with fine chemistry and great performances that carry the emotional impact that admittedly moved me to tears in one sequence that I gurantee you'll know when you see.

Of course, the most outstanding thing in this is once again Jim Carrey, who surprisingly fits very well into this deep drama. Believe it or not, he feels rather well-casted and backs up his case with some more of that fine competent acting that he loves to show off, and rightfully so. He once again gets a chance to show off his acting chops and boy howdy, does he bring them. He makes his character very believeable and compelling with his solid emoting and the chemistry that he sharply builds with the other characters. Seeing Jim Carrey in an unfamiliar element that he seems to genuinely fit in is enough of a sight to see without his excellent, film-carrying performance.

At the end of the day, "The Majestic", though familiar, sugary and periodically slow, is still yet another mostly entertaning and moving Darabont accomplishment led by Jim Carrey's fine performance and further proof that he fits like a dream in the serious acting industry.