Truman lives so we don't have to
The Truman Show A Film Review By Michael Redman Copyright 1998 By Michael Redman
***1/2 (out of ****)
At some point in nearly everyone's life, one begins to wonder exactly how real his perception of the world is. Usually between the ages of 30 and 40, most people realize that they have been looking at life through glasses made of lenses ground first by their parents, then by teachers and continually by the media.
Then there is the painful choice of accepting that view or attempting to get out of the box that surrounds us and form our own vision. No wonder that time of life is often referred to as a mid-life crisis.
Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) is having one hell of a 30th year. Beginning with a studio light that mysteriously falls out of the perfect blue sky and followed by odd "coincidences", he begins to believe that the world is revolving around him. In real life this would be called paranoia or delusions of grandeur. Here it's because, unbeknownst to him, Burbank is the subject of a 24 hour a day television series: the most popular show in the nation.
Adopted by a corporation at birth, his life has been broadcast to the world since his day one. Now at day 10,909, he's discovered that something is amiss. Everyone -- his wife, his best friend, the bus driver -- in his flawless hometown of Seahaven (filmed in the sanitized Florida community of Seaside) is an actor.
Even the town is a movie set with 5,000 hidden cameras under a huge dome. The sun and moon rise and set by command of series director Christof (Ed Harris who stepped in after Dennis Hopper left), he of the godlike name. All of Truman's experiences and emotions are manipulated by Christof's whispers to the actors. Truman lives in the ultimate fascist state.
An actress extra is yanked from the set when she and Truman begin to form an attachment to each other because it wasn't in the script. While she is trying to tell him that his life is a fake, she is hustled away by an actor playing her father.
The movie owes much to "The Prisoner" television series, but the show within the film reminds me of the slow-speed OJ Simpson car chase. Perhaps the best television ever, the extended chase was riveting because it was real and because nothing was happening, yet all eyes were on the tube. In this film, viewers watch Truman going about his mundane day. He leads an idyllic life and, like the chase, nothing much takes place...until he opens his eyes.
The audience watches him working, eating and sleeping. They give up their lives (in one scene a baby screams while its parents ignore him, glued to the set) to watch Truman eat dinner. We have become a country of voyeurs enjoying the bread and circuses.
Strangely enough with all of the overly-long films recently, this one feels too short. I wanted to know more. It is frustrating that the movie ends on the brink of potentially the most interesting aspect of Truman's life. Like the television audience, I want to watch. Although turning in a marvelous job, director Australian Peter Weir ("Picnic At Hanging Rock", "Witness", "The Year Of Living Dangerously") is a bit heavy-handed with the metaphors. It's obvious that the film is about our media-manipulated lives and the struggle to escape the shell of control. A more subtle approach would have worked better.
Weir has a history of casting actors (Harrison Ford, Robin Williams, Mel Gibson) in films that change their careers. Jim Carrey is no exception. Moving from his hilarious television work in "The Duck Factory" and "In Living Color" to the money-making but remarkably insipid "Ace Ventura" films, Carrey made his living with broad comedy and a rubber face. Taking a chance in the daring but flawed dark comedy "The Cable Guy", he signaled a change in direction. Now with "The Truman Show", Carrey has completed his about-face. Reining himself in, the actor is still hilarious at times, but there's a human here not just a goofball.
The supporting cast is up to the task. Each walks the fine line between portraying a television character and portraying an actor playing a character. The standout is Harris as the all-powerful megalomaniac on high.
The promotion of this film must have been a challenge. It was ready for release last year, delayed for a few months and then delayed again. The studio has decided to advertise it as a comedy. People who walk into the theater expecting to see nonsensical Carrey antics are going to be surprised.
It's much easier to watch someone else than to have our own experiences. It's seductive to be concerned about others because then we don't have to worry about looking at ourselves. And then when we are in a time of crisis, someone else's life can flash before our eyes.
(Michael Redman has written this column for over 23 years and has seen a number of people's lives flash before his eyes. Email your experiences to redman@bvoice.com.)
[This appeared in the 6/11/98 "Bloomington Voice", Bloomington, Indiana. Michael Redman can be contacted at redman@bvoice.com.] -- mailto:redman@bvoice.com This week's film review at http://www.bvoice.com/ Film reviews archive at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Michael%20Redman
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