After Jim Carrey (“The Yes Man”) became best known for his physical silliness in the 1990s, the actor had to prove with “The Truman Show” and “The Moon Man” that he was also a very good, serious character actor. . The ‘Dumb and Dumber’ star silenced his last critics with ‘Don’t Forget Me’. In the romantic science fiction drama, Carrey delivered perhaps his best career performance.
In Forget Me Not, Carrey takes on the role of Joel, who undergoes a newfangled procedure to remove the memories of his ex-girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet). Carrey had to step out of his comfort zone in many ways for the film. Not only could he rely less on his comic talent than ever before. Director Michel Gondry (“The Foam of the Days”) also forbade him to resort to improvisations. This did not apply to the rest of the cast.
Jim Carrey should suffer for his role
After Nicolas Cage (“Ghost Rider”) was originally set to star in “Forget Me Not” but had to cancel due to scheduling conflicts, the decision was made to give the role to Jim Carrey. And Michel Gondry chose the star of “The Mask” not least because he was suffering from a difficult divorce. Like Carrey in the powerful Netflix documentary “Jim & AndyGondry explained in preparation, “You are so beautiful. You are so broken. Please don’t get better.”
Carrey found the director’s comment completely inappropriate, adding, “That’s how bad this thing is.” However, Carrey did not confront the director with his displeasure, but afterwards felt that Gondry’s words may have helped him deliver one of his most authentic performances. In any case, there was no bad blood between the two artists. On the contrary, for the Showtime series “A joke“They worked together again.
The director explained why the collaboration between Gondry and Carrey is so special as follows: “Jim and I have gotten older. It’s a little more damaged. When he started he had a rubber face. He could imitate people and flex his muscles. Simply incredible. However, as we get older, the skin becomes a bit drier, so you can see the movements and what’s underneath. He doesn’t like to see himself that way, but I see little moments of sadness and loneliness in him and bring them out.”