A Whirlwind of Fun and Amusement

Rating: 8/10 (12 October 2013)

This is one really impressive movie. It's style seems to be 1940's retro and is like a living comic book on screen. I quite like the comic book style movies, that is if they are done well, and this movie has been crafted brilliantly. The Mask is not a deep movie, but rather it is a fun movie where we watch Carrey's talent blossom in a character that was almost made for him.
Stanly Ibkiss (Jim Carrey) is a nerdy bank clerk with a heart of gold. To him the world seems to be going against him because he is basically used, abused, and then discarded by all around him. Then one night he finds a mask floating in the harbour, and when he puts it on, in a whirlwind, he becomes a comic book superhero.
I won't go deep into the movie, but rather discuss the one thing that seems to come out of it, and that is the idea about masks. Ibkiss is naturally a funny and delightful fellow, however this changes when he puts on the mask, because while his heart doesn't change, his confidence does. In a way it is Ibkiss' lack of confidence that lets him down. However, as we come to realise at the end of the movie, Ibkiss doesn't need the mask to be confident, or even a super hero, because all the mask does is that is amplifies what is already there. Ibkiss realises that he does not need the mask to be a super hero, so finally discards it and becomes himself.
I guess the major theme here is to be one's self, and as such things don't matter. We shouldn't try to be somebody that we are not because if we do that we only end up fooling ourselves. Further we should not let others define who we are because the only person who and define who we are are ourselves. Ibkiss thought that he needed the mask to be somebody but in the end realised that the mask was nothing except something that drew his true self out from himself.
I could rave on a bit more about this movie but I won't because I really don't need to. This is a superbly good movie and it is one that is really enjoyable to watch, and makes a far better movie that Carrey's earlier Pet Detective.