Review of The Truman Show (1998) by B B — 08 Oct 2017

Good Morning, and In Case I Don't See Ya, Good Afternoon, Good Evening and Goodnight! (The Truman Show 1998).

Review:

"The world, the place you live in, is the sick place. Seahaven is the way the world should be". Combining cinematic masterminds behind films such as Dead Poets Society and GATTACA, Peter Weir and Andrew Niccol have managed to create one of the most thought provoking yet entertaining films to date. The Truman Show follows the life of Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey), a normal man living in the seemingly normal New England town of Seahaven. But unbeknownst to Truman, Seahaven is the world's largest reality TV set, filming 24 hours a day to an audience of billions. Being the first human legally adopted by a corporation, Truman has never known anything but the grotesquely perfect world of Seahaven, and is prevented from ever leaving it. The show director, Christof (Ed Harris) captivates the "mad-creative type" perfectly, controlling everything about Truman, from the people that appear (or disappear) in his life, to the sun that rises in the sky each morning.

Truman's desire to escape his reality is driven by his wish to find his long-lost love, Sylvia (Natascha McElhone) that he met in college. After an exciting school dance, the two ran away together to a beach for some privacy. It was then that Sylvia tried to tell Truman that the world he is living in is in fact not real and that she was an actor. Everything, from the sand on the beach to the ever-expanding ocean is all artificial. But before she can reveal too much, Christof sends her "dad", to drive down the beach and grab Sylvia, telling Truman that they are going to Fiji and never coming back.

Since his night with Sylvia, Truman becomes more cognizant of the world he lives in. The once pristine and happy Seahaven is now a cheerful prison, and Jim Carrey plays a very great prisoner. His quirkiness lightens the tone of what's really happening; a man is stuck in the world's largest TV set and everyone is in on it except him.

While Jim Carrey does an outstanding job playing Truman, his wife in the movie, Meryl (Laura Linney), plays the part of the "50's housewife" just right, wanting a quiet life in the suburbs with children. Another character, Noah Emmerich, who plays Truman's best friend, successfully creates this closeness dynamic with Truman that looks almost surreal. But after Truman asks if Emmerich is lying to him about the world, Emmerich manages to capture this look in his eyes that says, "I want to tell you the truth but Christof will kill me".

After his decision to escape by sea, Christof is forced to play is final card to keep Truman in Seahaven. He unleashes a chaotic storm knocking Truman off his boat, into the water. But Truman's persistence keeps Christof from going further and killing him on live TV. The dramatic music suddenly falls silent and as Truman reaches the horizon, he crashes through the TV set (literally breaking through the fourth wall). The build up to Truman's escape and his final parting of his world makes this movie always enjoyable to watch and watch again.

Aside from the plot, Weir's clever use of camera angles makes the film even more entertaining. Because of the nature of the movie, the viewer sees the world through the "5000" secret cameras hidden in places like trees or in car mirrors. It creates that quality of intimacy that comes along with prying into someone's life that ordinary camera angles just could not achieve. Another aspect to the show is its use of music during Truman's life. The music ranges from cheerful to gloomy, and is played live in the show, depending on the atmosphere Christof is trying to create. If it were not for the music and the camera angles, the Truman show would not be the most watched show in history.

It may be considered a feel-good family movie, there is a deeper meaning behind the film. The Truman show was created at a time when reality TV and social media began to consume people's lives. The idea that every feeling, thought and reaction of Truman's was real, all the while living in an artificial world only adds to the irony of it being considered a "reality TV show". The progression of Truman's journey to reality is a guide for the viewers to do the same, yet after Truman's escape, the transmission ends leaving the dedicated viewers saying, "what else is on TV?" only adding to the absurdity of the movie.

Although Jim Carrey is generally known for his goofy and sometimes child-like humor, the balance between comedy and seriousness in this movie is impeccable. Due to its uniqueness and depth, this movie deserves 4 stars, always leaving the viewer wanting another episode of the Truman show.