THE TRUMAN SHOW ***1/2 (out of four) -a review by Bill Chambers (wchamber@netcom.ca)
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starring Jim Carrey, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Natasha McElhone screenplay by Andrew Niccol directed by Peter Weir
Weir is well-respected in Hollywood for turning scripts with difficult subject-matter into deceptively simple, powerful films, The Mosquito Coast (utopia) and Fearless (post-traumatic stress disorder) among them. In The Truman Show, Weir essentially breathes life into the now-tired concept of media-manipulation by tackling the material from the inside-out. It certainly helps that he has an underrated performer in top-form playing the title character, Truman Burbank.
By now you must be aware of the premise: unbeknownst to him, Truman (Carrey) is the star of his own TV series, a 24-7 peep-show in which he is surrounded by actors and placed in loosely scripted situations; people around the world tune in for the voyeuristic thrill of his genuine reactions to fictitious stimulants. `Seahaven', his hometown, and the show itself, are the brainchild of Christof (Harris), who presides over his creation in the base of a fake moon, directing over 500 cameras and hundreds of actors and extras. For 30 years, Truman suspects nothing-`We accept the reality we're given,' poses Christof-but a desire to break free of the sunny town and visit a long lost love in `Fiji' (McElhone, who was actually an actress fired by Christof for trying to break the confidentiality agreement) overwhelms him. Thus, Christof and his team suddenly find themselves working twice as hard to keep the veneer of Seahaven intact, lest Truman discover the world outside and put an end to the highly-rated program.
In a few broad strokes, Weir creates a convincing second-reality, and he has the good sense not to bring Christof into the picture until almost three-quarters through. This allows us to comprehend and accept Truman's world before we contextualize it. For all his madness, Christof has shown the world a place without violence and hardship, and demonstrated that a human being can function well within it. Truman is an inspiration to his audience because he grew up to be, well, so darn nice; like a sibling (or, perhaps more appropriately, a caged animal in an interactive zoo), they want to see him succeed. The surrealistic soap opera is completely plausible thanks to a tight screenplay and a sympathetic Carrey-he really is an everyman here, abandoning his facial contortions in favour of a credible, wide-eyed bewilderment. Cinematically, The Truman Show is impeccable, stylishly photographed by Peter Biziou and littered with symbolic images. As well, it employs Wojciech Kilar's piece "Zycie za zycie' masterfully and beautifully. If the film has any flaws, one may find them in Laura Linney's characterization as Meryl, Truman's "wife" (I doubt that Betty Crocker impersonation would fool anyone), and in a subplot involving Truman's `father', which feels curiously incomplete.
There are a few stupendous sequences, and the film pulls off a wonderful trick: we become Truman's audience as much as the loyal viewers in the film. They wear buttons asking `How will it end?' I couldn't wait to know myself, though I didn't exactly want it to end, for this inspired movie is possibly the best-and most complex-summer picture in years.
-Bill Chambers; June, 1998
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