Jim & Andy: the Great Beyond

Produced by Vice Films and released by Netflix, this revelatory documentary offers a unique insight into the mind of Jim Carrey. Rich and famous after multiplex smashes Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask and Dumb and Dumber, and determined to make more films of substance following The Truman Show, he took on the role of Andy Kaufman in biopic Man on the Moon, shedding his own personality to become the eccentrically challenging comedian best known in the UK as Latka in US sitcom Taxi. Director Chris Smith (American Movie) balances unseen footage from the set, in which Carrey lives Kaufman 24 hours a day - to the consternation of co-stars (Danny DeVito, Paul Giamatti, Courtney Love) and crew (including wearied director Milos Forman) - with an exclusive, disarmingly honest interview with a heavily bearded Carrey. His immersion on set was so deep, he is seen being greeted by Kaufman's parents as if their son is back from the dead (Kaufman died from cancer aged 35 in 1984), and his methodology moves from obsessive to destructive. Carrey, who has dealt with depression, appears centred and self-analytical, and you're left with the feeling that both he and Kaufman were cut from similar cloth.