The Majestic (film)

For the theatre in Singapore, see The Majestic, Singapore.

The Majestic
The Majestic poster
Directed by	Frank Darabont
Written by	Michael Sloane
Produced by	Jim Behnke, Frank Darabont, Linda Fields
Starring	Jim Carrey Bob Balaban Jeffrey DeMunn Laurie Holden
Cinematography	David Tattersall
Edited by	Jim Page
Music by	Mark Isham
Distributed by	Warner Brothers
Release dates	December 11,2001
Running time	152 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$72,000,000

The Majestic is a 2001 film, written by Michael Sloane, and directed by Frank Darabont. It stars Jim Carrey, Bob Balaban, Jeffrey DeMunn, Laurie Holden and Hal Holbrook.

It was released by Warner Brothers on December 11, 2001.

Plot summary

The film is set in the United States during the 1950s. Peter Appleton (played by Carrey) is an up-and-coming young screenwriter working on B-Movies, but hopes to work his way onto the "A" list. Unfortunately, he is accused of being a Communist, like the real world accusations of the Hollywood blacklist. It turns out that in 1945, he had attended a meeting for a Communist organization in college known as the "Bread Instead of Bullets" club, a meeting which he reveals that he attended for a girl. In an instant, his new film (which he hopes will get him onto the "A" movies) is pushed back for a few months, the credit is given to someone else, and his contract gets dropped.

His career in ruins, he gets drunk at a seaside bar and gets into a car accident while trying to avoid hitting a possum on a bridge. When he wakes up, his memory lost (probably suffering from what the DSM-IV terms as a Dissociative Fugue), he is in a small town called Lawson. The townsfolk believe him to be Luke Trimble, one of the town boys killed in World War II 9 1/2 years ago, and embrace him as a symbol of hope. "Luke" is at first mildly hesitant to embrace this life but he eventually settles in to "his old life," and with his "father" Harry (Martin Landau) and his "girlfriend" Adele (Laurie Holden), starts to rebuild The Majestic, an old movie theatre that had been closed due to post-war hard times.

Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., Congressional committee member Elvin Clyde (Bob Balaban) is convinced that Appleton's disappearance is proof that he is an important Communist operative. No one in Hollywood knows about Appleton's accident, since he was alone and miles away. Clyde sends two federal agents to search for Appleton. Back in Lawson, not everyone believes that "Luke" is back. Bob Leffert, a one-handed soldier who knew the real Luke and did not like him (claiming that Luke rubbed him the wrong way) not only is convinced that Peter is not Luke, he also believes that this stranger is setting the town up for more heartbreak.

A few days later, the town throws a welcome home party for "Luke," and they ask him to play the piano, which he used to do when he was a kid. But instead of playing one of the classics he was taught to play, he eventually falls into a roadhouse boogie tune, much to the dismay of the town's music teacher. On his way home, he runs into Bob, who confronts him about the suspicions he has had about "Luke," even punching Peter in the face when he makes a comment about how the war must have changed him. Finally Peter, Harry, Adele and the rest of the townsfolk succeed in rebuilding The Majestic. In the events, Peter also convinces the town to finally build a memorial that President Franklin D. Roosevelt had commissioned for after the war, but that the town did not have the heart to put up.

Unfortunately, from that point, things take a turn for the worse. Peter regains his memory when the Majestic shows a movie he wrote, Sand Pirates of the Sahara. At the same moment, Harry has a heart attack. At Harry's death bed, Peter lets him die believing that he is still Luke, and breaks down in tears when Harry passes away. Immediately after the funeral, he tells Adele that he is not Luke. Adele says that she had a feeling that he wasn't. To make matters worse, the whole town discovers the truth when federal agents confront him in front of the whole town (after two boys discover his car washed up in the beach) and they present him with a summons to appear before Congress.

That night at the Majestic, Peter's lawyer advises him to "admit" and then denounce his past associations with the Communist Party, and presents him with a list of named "Communists" that he could read before the court to clear his name. Initially, Peter reluctantly agrees to this plan, but an argument with Adele and his own respect for the real Luke inspire Peter to instead confront the committee. At the hearing, Peter makes an impassioned speech about American ideals, which wins the crowd over. Fearing a political backlash, the lawmakers let him go free. Peter then returns to Lawson, fearing an unwelcome reception but eager to again see Adele. To Peter's surprise, he receives a hero's welcome from the town's citizens, who have come to respect Peter as an individual, especially in light of his decision to stand up to Congress.

Critical reaction

The movie was not particularly well received by the critics (for example, Kenneth Turan of Los Angeles Times commented that it was a "derivative, self-satisfied fable that couldn't be more treacly and simple-minded if it tried"). This movie is often cited as one of Jim Carrey's biggest flops during his time when he wanted to be known as a serious actor (although he would get some praise for his performance in the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). A notable exception to this trail was Roger Ebert, who praised the film and its ideals:

"It flies the flag in honor of our World War II heroes, and evokes nostalgia for small-town movie palaces and the people who run them... Frank Darabont has deliberately tried to make the kind of movie Capra made, about decent small-town folks standing up for traditional American values. In an age of Rambo patriotism, it is good to be reminded of Capra patriotism--to remember that America is not just about fighting and winning, but about defending our freedoms."[1]

Cast listing

• Jim Carrey - Peter Appleton
• Bob Balaban - Elvin Clyde
• Jeffrey DeMunn - Mayor Ernie Cole
• Hal Holbrook - Congressman Doyle
• Laurie Holden - Adele Stanton
• David Ogden Stiers - Doc Stanton
• Martin Landau - Harry Trimble
• Brent Briscoe - Sheriff Cecil Coleman
• Daniel von Bargen - Federal Agent Ellerby
• Shawn Doyle - Federal Agent Saunders
• Earl Boen - Newsreel Announcer (voice)
• Bruce Campbell - Roland the Intrepid Explorer
• Cliff Curtis - The Evil But Handsome Prince Khalid
• Michael Sloane - Kindly Old Professor Meredith
• Matt Damon - Luke Trimble (voice)
• J. Edgar Hoover - Himself (archive footage, uncredited)

Trivia

• Laurie Holden's character is inspired to become a lawyer by the film The Life of Emile Zola (1937). Holden's real-life grandmother, Gloria Holden, was one of the stars of this film.
• One of the voices in the two screenwriting conference scenes is famous director and screenwriter Garry Marshall. Other voices belong to Carl Reiner and his son Rob Reiner, and actor-director Sydney Pollack. The voice of the real character, Luke Trimble (reading a letter to Adele), is actor-screenwriter Matt Damon.
• The director of Sand Pirates of the Sahara is depicted as "Ferenc Arpad". This is Frank Darabont's first translated into his native Hungarian and his middle name.
• Bruce Campbell, star of the Evil Dead series, plays Roland the Intrepid Explorer (also listed in the film as Brett Armstrong) in the movie-within-a-movie Sand Pirates of the Sahara (the complete scenes can be seen on a DVD extra) His nemesis is played by Cliff Curtis who Campbell met while working on the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. The idol used to knock out the elderly explorer is the same idol Indiana Jones tries to liberate from the jungle temple at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
• The scenes where Peter makes bold statements in the Communist investigation hearing are similar to those in the 2004 Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator as well as Hughes' actual trial.
• The band seen and heard as the "Lawson High School Band" was the Humboldt State University Marching Lumberjacks
• The letter Adele received from Luke bears remarkable similarities to the one written by Union Civil War soldier Sullivan Ballou to his wife, a week before his death at the First Battle of Bull Run, as cited in Ken Burns' Documentary:

"Dearest Adele: I have a feeling we'll be moving out soon... so I may not get a chance to write for some time ... If I should not come back ... I will never truly leave you. Should ...a warm breeze graze your cheek...that warm breeze will be me ...

"Dear Sarah: The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days ... And lest I should not be able to write you again... If I do not return ... I shall always be with you ... And when the soft breeze fans your cheek, it shall be my breath ..."

• The seaside bar Peter drinks at, the Coco Bongo, shares a name with the club Stanley Ipkiss visits in The Mask.
• Peter was washed up by the sea after his accident. At the celebration for Luke's return, the song played by the band for the first dance is Acker Bilk's "Stranger on the Shore".

• The Majestic was filmed in the same town as Outbreak--Ferndale, California.

External links

• The Majestic at IMDb
• Warner Brothers' DVD official site
• McCarthyism and the Movies