Review of The Truman Show (1998) by Miles M — 07 Sep 2013

"The Truman Show" isn't your average Jim Carrey film, as it doesn't show Carrey using his usual schtick as he does in other movies. And those are the Jim Carrey films that I love to see, because when you take away his comedic appeal, you can get a very dramatic and emotional actor.

Carrey plays a man who is unaware that his entire life is a television show. He has been on the show ever since he was an infant. Despite having kept this a secret for 30 years, Truman soon begins to suspect something different about his perfect life, despite the shows clever and hilarious lengths to keep him uninterested in the world outside of him.

Where does Truman want to go? Well, in a very interesting subplot, we learn that Truman wants to visit Fiji. Why? Because the girl of his dreams, (previously an extra on the show, now an activist living in the real world with an ambition to free Truman with the help of political activism) was taken away by her supposed father, who hastily replied that they were going to Fiji. Now Truman wants to go to Fiji to reunite with the love of his life, and escape his blond and boring wife.

If there's one thing that holds this film together, it's the acting. Not just from Carrey, but from the supporting cast, which has an exceptionally difficult job of being a good actor when portraying a good actor, and they pull it off flawlessly.

One of "The Truman Show's" themes is feeding into ones anxieties. It carries this off by having Truman live in a world where travel is frowned upon and made to seem to dangerous and too expensive. There's a really funny and well done scene where Truman goes mad, and attempts to drive to anywhere in America, and the show tried to retail irate by presenting Truman with controlled dilemmas like traffic, forest fires and chemical leaks. It makes me happy that I didn't see it when I was younger, because it surely would upset me. But even still, Truman still attempts to escape, giving the character a sense of courage.

And that's what makes "The Truman Show" work. The character is great. The character is relatable. He represents a great film character. And what great film character would be complete without a great film. "The Truman Show." Check it out.