Review of The Truman Show (1998) by Cameron H — 13 Apr 2017
Genre: Soap Opera Sci-Fi Satire. Stars: Jim Carrey the actor, Peter Weir the director, Andrew Niccol the screenwriter. Biggest strength: Stirring execution of the premise of a "random" person's life, from Day 1, being entirely televised for the whole world, with everything in this person's life being scripted (to the in-film director's best ability).
Biggest weakness: At some points, we are to consider whether or not the isolated, crime-free world in which Truman has lived is truly better than the real, crime-ridden world that watches Truman's life.
Andrew Niccol does not follow with that fully, instead wishing to indulge us, the viewers of his movie, with these vague notions of needing to be free, and rooting for the romance(?) between Carrey and some woman who first told him that his entire life is a lie.
Leave it be, Niccol! You came dangerously close to self-parody, in certain scenes. Thankfully, Peter Weir had the chops to bring most of the scenes into comedic light; better yet, the casting choice of Jim Carrey helped even more.
There were some delightful moments of simply watching Truman do his routine thing. Weir and Carrey are unitedly responsible for letting us, the audience, care about Truman, even if not as much as the audience of the in-film Truman Show.
This review of The Truman Show (1998) was written by Cameron H on 13 Apr 2017.
The Truman Show has generally received very positive reviews.
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