The Truman Show Review
by Craig Roush (kinnopio AT execpc DOT com)June 12th, 1998
THE TRUMAN SHOW
Release Date: June 5, 1998
Starring: Jim Carrey, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, Natascha McElhone, Holland Taylor
Directed by: Peter Weir
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG (thematic elements, mild language)
URL: http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio/reviews/1998/truman.htm
The beginning to a good movie is a good story, and that was most likely the way Andrew Niccol began before writing his script to THE TRUMAN SHOW. Innovative and determined, the story is one of the finer pieces of literature to make it on to the screen this year; although it does not contain the meandering plot twists of similar movies such as Dark City, it contains a great amount of depth which adds to the power of the story. It's only a base, though, for a series of fine performances and great photography, music, and editing, all of which will surely make THE TRUMAN SHOW one of the year's best.
The movie almost sets itself up as a metaphor for the power of the effect television as an entertainment medium. The opening credits do not read 'Jim Carrey' and 'Ed Harris,' they read 'Truman Burbank' (Carrey) and 'Christof' (Harris). In this way, Director Peter Weir begins to make us think that what we're watching is actually happening - the first important step toward engaging an audience. The movie continues through a brief but explanatory progression of Truman's life: he is the star of an immensely popular television series that gives hope to millions, but there's one catch. He's the only principle in the series that does not know he's in a television series. All of his friends and family, even an entire town, are a cast of extras.
Although the show has been following Truman's life since he was born, we're inserted at Day 10,909 - somewhere near the end of Truman's twenty-ninth year. The first half of the movie is contained almost entirely within the show, so that even the audience has very little idea of what happens outside. But as the story progresses, both Truman and the audience come to know more and more that something else exists: the esoteric world of Christof, the creator of the show. The downside to this is that any audience member without prior knowledge of the setup will find the opening part to THE TRUMAN SHOW vague, or perhaps confusing. Great narrative hook that it is, though, even informed viewers are yearning to see outside the vast soundstage on which the television show is shot.
Into the movie's second half, though, that wish is fulfilled and we are given broader and broader looks at the man behind the scenes. Masterfully done by Ed Harris, and perhaps a portrayal of Oscar worth for a supporting role, the man is a guru of entertainment. Dynamic enough, though, to at the same time be obssessive and even frightening, he adds weight to what otherwise might be an inspired little melodrama. The characters and scenes are also underscored by Burkhard Dallwitz's fine score, and although cinematography is questionable - is it Peter Biziou, or the crew of THE TRUMAN SHOW that's choosing what we see - it's no less thematic. All in all a perfectly watchable motion picture. With the sudden failings of GODZILLA at the box office, THE TRUMAN SHOW may become the benchmark for the summer movies of 1998.
FINAL AWARD FOR "THE TRUMAN SHOW": 3.0 stars - a good movie.
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Craig Roush
[email protected]
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Kinnopio's Movie Reviews
http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio
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