Jim Carrey Shed His Trademark Wildness for This Overlooked Frank Darabont Drama With 'Shawshank' Vibes

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Jim Carrey is undeniably one of film's most gifted comedic performers. He established himself as the preeminent lovable goofball in blockbuster comedies like Ace Ventura, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber during the 90s. So we get that audiences want as much of that version of Jim Carrey as possible, but the versatile actor has taken some dramatic roles that get overlooked because viewers may not have been ready for them. The rubbery-faced genius of the laugh genre had already made a move toward more serious roles when he joined a stacked cast in the Oscar-nominated epic The Truman Show in 1998.

So when he delivered one of his best and most earnest dramatic roles in 2001's period piece The Majestic, directed by Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption), fans and critics somehow overlooked it. Carrey has never been given enough credit for his overall acting chops. Maybe it's partly the actor's fault for being so sublime and Jerry Lewis-esque in the comedy world, but this particular serious role deserves a deeper look. This heartfelt and heart-wrenching movie deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as The Truman Show as well as his other well-regarded dramas, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Man on the Moon.

What Is 'The Majestic' About?

Carrey plays Peter Appleton, a World War II-era B-movie director on the cusp of breaking into the big time with his next project. But when he falls under suspicion by the government for anti-American Communist activities, he is blacklisted. Distraught, he hits the bottle and takes off on a road trip along the California coastline, only to have a bad car accident that leaves him with amnesia. A kindly older man finds him washed ashore and brings him into the small town of Lawson for medical attention. Once there, Peter is mistaken as the doppelgänger of a young local man named Luke Trimble, who is thought to have died overseas fighting in the war.

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Lawton and its denizens have been disproportionately struck by the vicissitudes of the war, having lost almost an entire generation of its young men overseas. Appleton's uncanny resemblance to Luke leads the residents to believe he is a miracle sent home to revitalize the town and lift its sleepy spirit. Soon, he is taken in by Harry Trimble (Martin Landau), who is ecstatic to have his long-lost son back. He is a theater owner and operator at the town's landmark theater, The Majestic, which has fallen into disrepair since his wife died several years prior. He also meets his old flame, Adele (Laurie Holden). The two try to make the best of what is an awkward reunion.

'The Majestic' Calls on Jim Carrey to Deliver Serious Emotion

Jim Carrey and Laurie Holden fall in love in 'The Majestic' (2001)

Just as Pete/Luke has the entire town of Lawson back on its feet and his father enjoying running the Majestic theater again, tragedy strikes when Harry has a heart attack. After he has regained his memory and knows that Harry isn't his real father, he has a poignant deathbed scene that calls on Carrey to deliver profound emotion. As the tears roll down his cheeks watching this kind old man die, it is some of the actor's best work. When you look into the eyes of the clown prince of cinema, you don't see Ace Ventura or Lloyd Christmas; you see a broken man torn between his past life and the new life he has created with the nurturing people of the small town.

Later in the film, a scene requires Carrey to weigh the possibilities of his Hollywood career with the honor and integrity of Luke, a soldier who valued freedom and family above all else. Laurie Holden, as his love interest Adele, brings out the emotional best in Carrey as he wrestles with doing what is right versus what would be easy. It is a hell of a climax, leading Pete to search his soul for what kind of man he has been and wants to be. Again, Carrey delivers a layered, expressive character filled with doubt and regret. There aren't many performers out there who could have done it better, and Carrey deserves his flowers for getting outside his comfort zone and making bold choices. If Frank Darabont guided characters like Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), Red Ellis (Morgan Freeman), and John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan) in The Green Mile and was willing to trust Carrey in a serious role after that, then maybe we should, too.