The Truman Show Review
by "John Coffey" (john2001 AT hotmail DOT com)June 11th, 1998
For about the first 15 minutes of The Truman Show, they don't tell us what is really going on. Of course we know already what is really going on because the massive advertising blitz has given away about 2/3 of the plot. I think that the opening sequence would have been a more interesting experience if I had known nothing at all about the movie.
Although the movie is billed as a comedy, it is more of a serious drama with subtle comic elements.
The same author who wrote and co-produced The Truman Show, Andrew Niccol, wrote my favorite movie from last year, "Gattaca", which is a slightly better movie and is now on video. Both films are thought provoking about the path that technology is leading us down. Both films view the road to Hell as being paved with good intentions, and both films celebrate the individual.
This reminds me about how the famous science fiction author Robert Heinlen wrote about nuclear war and the Cold War in the early 1940's before they actually occurred. Really good science fiction warns us about things that could happen in our lifetime, and The Truman Show seems plausible although slightly exaggerated.
I give the movie 4 stars not for just great story telling, but for also making us think about the world we live in. My only disappointment is that most of the important plot elements are given away in the advertising trailer. But the ending is a surprise and a satisfying payoff.
I wish that I could say that the story was completely original, but there was a Twilight Zone show from around 1990 that had the same basic premise.
This is the best movie Jim Carrey has been in, and by far his best performance. This is his first movie since "The Mask" that isn't completely inane. I hope that The Truman Show signals a more serious turn in his career.
John Coffey
A quote from Roger Ebert.....
"Carrey is a surprisingly good choice to play Truman. We catch glimpses of his manic comic persona, just to make us comfortable with his presence in the character, but this is a well-planned performance; Carrey is on the right note as a guy raised to be liked and likable, who decides his life requires more risk and hardship. Like the angels in ``City of Angels,'' he'd like to take his chances. "
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John Coffey.
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