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The Majestic - Revival House Perth Event BioFrank Darabont follows up The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile with this earnest 2001 love letter to classic Hollywood, small-town America, and the power of movies to bring communities together. Jim Carrey trades comedy for sincerity in a Capra-esque tale about identity, McCarthyism, and finding yourself by losing yourself.
Carrey plays Pete Appleton, a Hollywood screenwriter in 1951 who gets blacklisted during the Red Scare for briefly attending a Communist meeting in college. Fleeing Los Angeles in despair, he crashes his car and wakes up with complete amnesia. When he wanders into the small California town of Lawson, the locals believe he's Luke Trimble, a local hero presumed killed in World War II. Luke's father Harry (Martin Landau) welcomes him home, and Pete/Luke finds himself embraced by an entire town desperate to believe their son has returned—and inspired to restore the town's shuttered movie palace, The Majestic.
Darabont crafts an unabashedly old-fashioned film that wears its heart on its sleeve. The recreation of 1950s small-town America is meticulous and warm, while the restored Majestic theater becomes a character itself—a temple to cinema's power to unite and inspire. Carrey anchors the film with genuine emotion, particularly in scenes opposite Landau, who brings weathered dignity to the father who knows the truth but chooses hope.
The film's finale—a speech about freedom and the First Amendment—is pure Capra idealism. Critics were divided, but sometimes sincerity without irony is exactly what's needed.
A love letter to movies, America's better angels, and the towns movies built.
Present in authentic 35mm film for the true cinematic experience!
When: Thursday, December 18th at 7:45 PM
Where: Revival House Perth
Rating: PG - Mild themes
Darabont's most earnest film—Jim Carrey in a Capra-style fable about movies, memory, and small-town redemption.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
16 Preston Street Como, 6152, 16 Preston St, Como WA 6152, Australia, Perth
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