In the late 1990s, it was difficult to imagine Hollywood "high concept" comedy actually trying to make the audience think. It was even harder to imagine such a film seriously dealing with important social, ethical, and philosophical issues while being critical of the modern entertainment industry at the same time. To expect such a film to be released as a summer blockbuster and make a nice business at the box office was an exercise in ungrounded optimism. Yet, The Truman Show, a 1998 comedy directed by Peter Weir, managed to do all that.
The script for the film was written by Andrew Niccol, author of the lauded science fiction drama Gattaca. Its protagonist is Truman Burbank (played by Jim Carrey), a small insurance company official living in Seahaven, a picturesque island community. Truman has spent his entire life there, afflicted with an irrational fear of water following childhood trauma. At the surface, Truman's life seems to be very good - he has a nice job, a house, a wife, Meryl (played by Laura Linney), and a best friend, Marlon (played by Noah Emmerich). There is something missing from Truman's life - Sylvia (played by Natascha McElhone), a girl who mysteriously disappeared from the island after telling him about his every move being followed. Gradually, strange things start to happen in Seahaven - reflectors are falling from the sky, the radio catches some strange messages, and the town's inhabitants begin to behave strangely. The answer to all questions lies in the true nature of Truman's world - it is nothing more than a giant set for the world's longest-running and most spectacular television soap opera. As a child, Truman was adopted by a corporation and his entire life was recorded by thousands of cameras 24 hours a day, while all the people he knows are professional actors. When Truman starts doubting about the truthfulness of the people and world that surround him, the show's omnipotent God-like director, Christof (played by Ed Harris), must take some drastic measures to protect the show.
Unlike most Hollywood films, The Truman Show increased its social relevance with time. In 1998, most critics and commentators saw Niccol's script as a satire directed towards the voyeuristic and intrusive nature of modern media. On the other hand, there were some critics ridiculing the film's concept of the world's most popular TV show being made simply by recording someone's everyday life. Only a few years after the film's premiere came Big Brother and multitudes of immensely popular reality shows based on that very concept. Yet, all those shows are still based on some sort of manipulation and distortion of reality, just like the world of Truman Burbank is artificial reality. Andrew Niccol's script intelligently avoids taking a simplistic critical one-sided stand against such manipulation. Peter Weir laces the plot with quasi-documentary footage about the production of the show and through the words of Christof presents arguments of the other side - Truman might have his privacy and freedom taken away, but his life is spared of painful uncertainties that might await him in the real world; his existence, despite all its artificiality, gives happiness and comfort to the billions of people around the world.
Taken simply as a film, The Truman Show presents its director, Peter Weir, at his best. The artificial world of Seahaven is created with great care and is full of many tiny details that are impressive even when they don't serve much dramatic purpose. The music score, written by various artists, including the legendary Philip Glass, is very impressive and contributes to the surreal yet frighteningly normal atmosphere of the film. Jim Carrey in this role finally shows that he is a real actor, and not simply a comedian. The supporting cast is also wonderful – Laura Linney is impressive in her role of the perfect and artificial wife, while Noah Emmerich is excellent as Truman's fictional best friend. His performance is best in one of the film's most powerful scenes - a conversation with Truman that compresses all the tragic, dramatic, and comedic elements of the film's premise.
The Truman Show is an intelligent, brave, and entertaining film, but it is still far from perfection. Some casting decisions weren't very fortunate - Carey and McElhone lack chemistry, and it isn't easy to understand why Truman was so obsessed with McElhone's character. The outside world isn't portrayed very well, and the film's ending, which could have been much darker, leaves much to be desired. The entire film could have worked much better with the audience slowly discovering the truth from Truman's perspective. On the other hand, even with such flaws and so many missed opportunities, The Truman Show is a little miracle of 1990s Hollywood that deserves more praise and more audience today than it had a few years ago.
RATING: 7/10 (+++)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on April 12th 2004)
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