Paramount Pictures, Rated PG
Directed by Peter Weir
Written by Andrew Niccol
A year ago if you told someone that one of the best movies of the decade starred Jim Carrey, you would be laughed out of the room. But here we are in 1998, and one of the best films of the decade (so far, but there's not much left of it) stars Jim Carrey. His last successful film, Liar Liar, was Carrey doing what he does best, being a human cartoon and making you laugh just by looking at him. It was a huge hit, a comeback from the disappointment of The Cable Guy. Many attributed this to the idea that Carrey's audience only wanted him to be funny, and stray away from films like The Cable Guy that were too different from Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Well, The Truman Show is just about as far from Ace Ventura as you can get, and it works. It not only works (which is all it really had to do to be a success), it's a truly great film.
The structure of the film alone makes it brilliant. The first hour or so rarely strays from the actual "Truman Show," where Truman Burbank (Carrey) lives a picturesque life that, unbeknownst to him, is being watched by millions. His whole life is a sham and he never suspects it. Not yet, anyway. We are watching the show with the rest of the audience, and the actual credits are never even shown until the end, which is amazingly effective because it helps to keep the audience thoroughly engrossed in the film all the way through.
When we finally see what goes on behind the scenes, it's just as captivating. Christof (Ed Harris), the egotistic director who created "The Truman Show," defends his product to the press and tries many different strategies to keep Truman unaware of the fact that none of what he's ever experienced was real. The film finds ingenious ways of slowly letting the audience know how many different aspects of the show are put together, such as product placement, hidden cameras, and parts of Truman's early life. The film soon strikes close to home as it seems that we are very close to this kind of show in real life. This is one of many meanings the film has, including the idea that many people go through everyday life simply accepting everything that happens to them.
It works on so many levels, and its few flaws are miniscule, such as how the film never explains the other actor's motivations, but in my mind there was enough of this in the film, and it only shows how focused it is on the plot and the point it's trying to make. The acting in the film is top-notch, but the focus is on Carrey and Harris, who deliver outstanding performances. Their unique relationship is dealt with in only the last 40 minutes of the film, but that turns out to be enough for us to learn how Christof feels about Truman. The cinematography is brilliant as well, as many of the shots come from hidden cameras in strategic points all around the town Truman lives in.
Far be it for me to forecast the Oscars this early in the game, but it would be a terrible injustice if this spectacular film goes unnoticed next year. I have no doubt that this is the beginning of a brand-new kind of career for Jim Carrey. ****
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