THE TRUMAN SHOW A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1998 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ****
Go ahead, confess. You've suspected for sometime now that your life isn't real. All those objects that dot your environment are just elaborate facades, and those people around you, who claim to be your friends, are merely actors in some vast drama of undecipherable portent.
Although I can't be sure about you, this is exactly what happened to the unsuspecting Truman Burbank. Truman is played brilliantly by Jim Carrey in a dramatic role with sporadic comedic touches. In the most promising plot for a movie in a long time, THE TRUMAN SHOW is about a human being who, since birth, has been the subject of a 24-hour-a-day cable show - the world's most popular soap opera or television series of any kind. "It's all true," Truman's best friend Marlon (Noah Emmerich) explains to us in the opening scene. "Nothing you see here on this show is fake. It's just controlled."
Directed with absolute precision by THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY's Peter Weir, and written smartly by GATTACA's Andrew Niccol, THE TRUMAN SHOW is that rare breed, the movie that borrows from other sources and yet comes up with something so fresh and innovative that it has to be seen to be fully appreciated. It has some of the look and feel of the television show, "The Prisoner," and some of the scenes, especially the "backstage" ones, will remind you of Disney's Magic Kingdom, but the movie itself is one of a kind.
With Dennis Gassner's pristine sets of bright whites that would put Normal Rockwell to shame and with an inviting score by Philip Glass, the picture is a feast for the eyes and ears. The cinematographer uses bright primary colors to give the film the two-dimensional realism of an Andy Warhol painting.
Living in an artificial world populated by actors playing his friends and relatives, Truman has rarely doubted his world until recently. Whenever he has misgivings, his buddies, like Marlon, assure him not to worry. "The last thing I'd ever do is lie to you," Marlon tells him with absolute sincerity. That this is a line thrown to Marlon via hidden transmitters from the off-screen director, Christof, Truman never guesses. A moving show, it considers a host of issues, not the least of which is what it means to be a friend. Marlon's been there for Truman all his life. Just because Marlon's an actor and he's told what to do, does that lessen the benefit of his companionship?
The would-be God, Christof, known as the world's greatest televisionary, is played with intensity by a guru-looking Ed Harris. Christof, having at the television show's outset arranged for the first ever adoption of a baby by a corporation, is hoping that the now grown Truman will supply that scoop-of-scoops, the world's first on-air conception.
Truman is married, or thinks he is, to a wonderful wife named Meryl, played with ear-to-ear smiles by Laura Linney from ABSOLUTE POWER. In a movie so rich that it deserves a second or even third viewing, watch carefully how Truman eventually discovers that their vows may be in question. Carrey, in one of his most subtle performances, provides a likeable hero with whom we can empathize.
Truman wants to leave his all too perfect existence to go to Fiji, where he hopes to find Sylvia, the girl that got away. Played with captivating eyes by Natascha McElhone from MRS. DALLOWAY, Sylvia in one of the show's flashbacks tries to tell Truman about his sham of a life before she is whisked away. What he doesn't realize, of course, is that the reason he couldn't marry her is because it wasn't in his life's script.
Slowly and delicately, the fascinating story throws Truman clues that his paradise on earth may be one giant conceit, fabricated for purposes inconceivable to him. When flaws appear on the set, such as a light that falls incongruously from the heavens, the townsfolk conveniently but not entirely convincingly explain them away.
As the movie advances, we cut more frequently to the control room where Christof and company - wearing "Love him. Protect him." T-shirts -- are pulling all of the strings. They can cue the sun, set off dramatic storms and have the actors say or do anything they like. We also cut to several locations around the globe where people hang on Truman's every word and hold their collective breaths when he's in danger. Like a video aquarium, the show, which keeps the camera on Truman even as he sleeps, provides comfort to the insomniacs all over the planet.
There is even a scene in which Christof - now there's a name not lightly chosen - is asked on a talk show why Truman believes in his artificial environment. "We accept the reality of the world we are presented," he explains. "It's as simple as that."
If you think modern movies are blatant in their product placements, this television show puts them all to shame. To pay for the elaborate production, everything in the show is for sale.
"How will it end?" reads a small button on Sylvia's blouse. How indeed? The absolutely riveting story has both (television and movie) audiences on the edge of their seats wondering. Staged brilliantly, the ending wraps up a masterful show perfectly.
THE TRUMAN SHOW runs 1:44. It is rated PG for a few mild profanities. The film would be acceptable for all ages, but kids probably need to be around nine to understand and appreciate it.
My son Jeffrey, almost 9, thought is was "a pretty good movie." He was fascinated by the story and kept wondering what would happen next and when Truman would figure it all out. His favorite scene was the one when a wheelchair traffic jam was used to keep Truman away from the edge of the set. (This was the most complicated and subtle movie that he's ever seen and liked. His body language showed how wrapped up in the story he was.)
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