The
Truman Show was widely proclaimed as the best film of the year before it even
came out. It was actually due out last year but was shelved for a while. It's
said that Paramount didn't quite know how to market the picture. It's easy to
see why. The Truman Show plays as a whimsical fantasy while taking shots at the
media along the way. Although it isn't the best film of the year, and has major
plot holes, there's no faulting it's originality. And, as cliche as this might
sound, it features the best performance of Jim Carrey's career.
Australian
film-maker Peter Weir (Witness, Mosquito Coast, Year of Living Dangerously, and
Fearless), does a brilliant job bringing Andrew NiccolÕs wild screenplay
to the screen. It tells the story of Truman Burbank, a man whose life is not what
it seems. Since birth, his entire life has been captured on camera--the catch?
Truman has no idea. The man behind the camera is Christof, played by Ed Harris.
It seems that through the years, The Truman Show has become the highest rated
show in television history. But today, on his 30th birthday, Truman finally notices
that something is wrong. He decides to go out and discover the world and gets
more than he bargains for.
Carrey
gives an unusually restrained performance and he does a great job displaying both
the sensitivity and paranoia of a man in his situation. His low key performance
didn'Õt surprise me, after all, Weir got the same kind of performance out
of Robin Williams in Dead PoetÕs Society. Ed Harris is also superb as a
man with a major God complex. Also notable are Noah Emmercih as Truman's longtime
buddy, and Natascha McElhone as a woman who isn't acting a part, but really loves
Truman.
Along
with the obvious holes in the film'Õs plausibility, it is also weakened
by Laura Linney's performance as Truman's fake wife. Watching her play her part
makes you wonder how Truman could be so clueless. Still she does have some inspired
moments as she promotes certain products for the television audience, without
Truman catching on.
The
Truman Show isn't perfect and it certainly isn't the best film of the year, but
in a summer of unoriginality, it does offer something you've never seen before.
And with current state of media-overkill it's a relevant and very enjoyable picture.
