Peter Appleton, a script writer during the Hollywood Goden Age, 1951 in particular, is accused of being a Communist. His career is in ruin, he then gets into a freak car accident and suffers amnesia. He is in Lawson after saved his life by Stan Keller. Meanwhile, two federal agents find him to call him to testify before a Senate hearing committee.
Darabont and screenwriter Michael Sloane's misty-eyed tribute may be pleasant in places, but it's too manufactured and deliberate to be persuasive.
Kansas City Kansan
October 30, 2004
Don't even look for Clarence the Angel in this slow paced, but effective story.
Creative Loafing
March 04, 2015
The first part of the movie will strike some viewers as inspiring and others as manipulative; at any rate, it's clearly the better half, since the final act is patently false and a queer whitewash of a tragic chapter in US history.
Well-intentioned, but nearly every scene feels dragged out.
Common Sense Media
December 28, 2010
This corny movie may not appeal to kids.
Washington Post
December 21, 2001
It can't fake sincerity. It tries ever so hard, but it doesn't have a single believable second.
Toronto Star
December 21, 2001
Mr. Carrey may go to both Washington and a version of Bedford Falls in The Majestic, but he is neither the Jefferson Smith nor George Bailey of Stewart's best-loved films.
Darabont is seeking to recapture the spirit of Frank Capra - with Carrey in the role of a James Stewart or Gary Cooper. Yet even though Darabont shares Capra's dewy-eyed optimism, his film's sluggish pace means he lacks Capra's screwball zest.
Carrey gets the best role of his own career -- and plays it with tenderness, valor, bravery and deeply moving conviction. I find him positively captivating.
