The Truman Show
Director:Peter Weir
Screenplay:Andrew Niccol
Starring:James Carrey, Edd Harris, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich
John's Review
One of the most orginal films in years. Best film of the year. Best film of the Decade.
All of these things and more have been said about The Truman Show, I agree with the first statement, the second.. so far. But not the third. Something has to be said about Weir's (Witness and Mosquito Coats) direction and Carrey's (Ace Ventura, The Mask, Dumb and Dumber) acting. Both are right on par. I hope this gives Weir the recognition he deserves and Carrey the respect he deserves. Not to leave out Ed Harris (The Right Stuff, The Abyss, Apollo 13), but his performances are always well above par.
What would happen if you were born to a small seaside island town, lose your father to a drowning accident and then proceed to live a perfect life? You probably wouldn't ask any questions. Well neither did Truman Burbank (Carrey) until his long dead (22 years) father reappears. Then things start to become a bit bizarre. Someone talks directly about him on the radio, unaware that he can hear this person. A building elevator with no elevator. A stadium light fixture seemingly falls from the sky. And rain that falls just on him. Sounds strange right?
Well it wouldn't be if you lived inside a huge soundstage filled with thousands of extras and over 5,000 camera's. Everyone is in on this, except Truman. The world's most poular T.V. show has been on the air for over 29 years/24 hours a day, with the main character being the totally ignorant, Truman Burbank. Everyone else from his best friend from childhood (Emmerich) to his wife (Linney) and mom are actors. Even commercial placement is done on the show by the actors themselves. But, not everyone loves the show. There is the mysterious girl from high school that babbles about all of this being fake and that Truman has to get out of there. To the sky diving fan that just wants to get his face on the show. To even his father, a character that was unwittingly written out of the show to help create Truman's fear of water (this is what helped keep him on the island).
One of the more interesting themes that this film touches on is the biblical sense. The shows creator, Cristoff (Harris) is reflective of the idea that'God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates Man.' This is no more evident than near the end of the film when Cristoff goed to talk to Truman and has his voice booming over the entire set like a Godlike figure.
This film could not have been made any better. Apparently this script was one of the most sought after scripts in Hollywood from it's conception and I see why. Although it starts a little slow, it quickly gets rolling and by the time the movie audience is caught up, we begin to understand why Truman is so confused. The music was original and at times moving. The direction was right on track and the acting was above par. This is not a comedy, even though it has some comedic moments. So don't go to the movie expecting to have tears of laughter, not that you'll have tears of joy or sadness either. But, I think you will solidly enjoy the film.
Grade: B
