The Truman Show

The Truman Show is an entertaining and compelling film from Peter Weir, who often makes films about events whose historical accuracies are dubious and thus exaggerated. However, here with a premise that is both original and possibly acts as a commentary succeeds despite such motives that could have gone awfully wrong. For, The Truman Show deals with a man named Truman who has lived within the biggest tv set ever constructed. His entire life is filmed 24 hours a day and for the last thirty years since his birth. All that Truman knows is this encased world that creates an idealistic life that is watched by millions. As Weir cuts between Truman's slow discovery of what he thinks of as a conspiracy, people watch him indifferent to his problems. They seem to care, and some genuinely do, but they are always in question. Consider how terribly bad this film could have gone, becoming an allegory for our own obsession with reality tv, and our numbness towards this. This is not the point of The Truman Show, for the way it is written (by Andrew Niccol, who penned the great sci-fi drama, Gattaca) is one that merely uses such plot points for entertainment instead of condemnation or condescension. At the heart of The Truman Show is the will of Truman to escape what is ideal. Consider, as trite as it is, the story of Adam of Eve, where they eat from the proclaimed tree of knowledge to see what lies outside of idealism. Truman does this as well. Within the Truman show there is an intricate puzzlebox of a plot, accentuated by being filmed almost sarcastically as kitschy scenes must enter to boost the ratings of the show. As Truman, Jim Carrey is pitch perfect, keeping the same amount of innocence and likeablity that is believable in the respective setting. The supporting cast is also good, featuring the underused, but radiant, Natascha McElhone as an activist fighting for Truman's freedom for ignorance, and Ed Harris as the literal eye in the sky. The Truman Show is a triumph both in respects to its popular entertainment value and its intricacies.
The Truman Show: ★★★★