The Truman Show Review
by Ben Hoffman (bhoffman AT ix DOT netcom DOT com)June 14th, 1998
Member of OFCS
Online Film Critics Society
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THE TRUMAN SHOW
If you were expecting to see Jim Carrey doing his outrageous "shtick," you will not find it in this film . . . Which is a plus. In ACE VENTURA, while the movie was only mediocre, Carrey's antics were amusing. By the time he made Cable Guy, which was better, and The Mask, which was still better, he no longer needed the way-out eye-popping. . Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) is quite a different character.
Truman has been an actor all of his 30 years but only recently has he become aware of that. It seems that soap opera director, Christof (Ed Harris) has been playing god with Truman's life . . . since he was born. He has made him the star of the longest running soap opera in TV history.
The story is indeed different than usual movie fare but not quite as original as the publicists would like us to believe. Several articles have been written about other movies with approximately the same premise. However, once that is said, the Truman Burbank movie stands on its own. And Carrey is very good in it..
Director Christof constructed a gigantic sound stage that looked like a typical American town, Seahaven. All the buildings are quaint. And Truman has had no idea he had been living and growing into adulthood on a huge movie set. All his friends and family are actually actors in this long-running soap opera, as is even his wife, Meryl (Laura Linney) while every other day since he was born Truman has been watched by thousands of TV cameras hidden in the make-believe town of Seahaven. All his neighbors are in the cast, equipped with earphones to receive instructions, all directed by Christof. Truman's life has become the TV fare for billions of watchers over the thirty years.
When it finally dawns on him that none of this is real, that he is a pawn being manipulated by Someone, Truman rebels. His single priority now becomes his escape from Seahaven. At the other end is the Director who "conceived" "The Truman Show and is not about to let the series come to a conclusion. It is interesting to contemplate what it may be like in the next millennium when spying will be even easier than it is now. What will happen to privacy? Those are some of the specters the film raises. The question also comes up, "Why are billions of people over the years watching Truman Burbank's seemingly uneventful life." At no time are we shown anything out of the ordinary in his existence. Perhaps it is that people are natural voyeurs.
While the scenes with Christof manipulating the sun and the moon and the weather and ocean waves from his studio control room are funny, Truman's escape on the sea seemed to go on too long.
Others in the cast are Truman's friend Marlon, an actor, of course,(Noah Emmerich), Natascha McElhone, who plays Lauren/Sylvia, Holland Taylor as Truman's "mother" And Kirk (Brian Delate.)
Directed by Peter Weir.
Story by Andrew Niccol
3 Bytes
4 Bytes = Superb
3 Bytes = Too good to miss
2 Bytes = Average
1 Byte = Save your money
Copyright 1998 Ben Hoffman
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
