The Truman Show

The world is watching

Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) is getting suspicious. Though his life, as an insurance salesman, appears normal, certain events in his smalltown home of Seahaven have puzzled him, such as a large lamp crashing from the sky one day. Then one day, he sees a homeless man standing in the street, and recognises him as his father (who fell overboard on a sailing trip with Truman years earlier, and was presumed drowned . Before he can talk to him, two other pedestrians grab the man, and bundle him onto a bus. The next day, the local newspaper describes a crackdown by the authorities on the homeless. Truman shares his suspicions with his wife, his mother and his best friend Marlon (Noah Emmerich), who don't believe him.

What Truman doesn't realize is that he is the only unsuspecting character in a hugely eloborate 24-hour soap-opera, which has been observing his life since his birth. His wife, his mother, his friends and everyone else in Seahaven are actors, and the plot is Truman's life. Truman comes to the conclusion that there is a cover-up about his father, and begins to suspect the people around him, particularly his wife Meryl (Laura Linney). He is also convinced there is a link between the current goings-on and a mysterious girl who gave him a strange message when he was in high school. That girl was actually a cast member who tried to warn him of his true predicament but was also snatched away before she could tell him the full story.

Peter Weir latest offering is a fine follow-up to Fearless (1993). That movie elicited superb performances from both Jeff Bridges and Rosie Perez (earning her an Oscar nomination) and was a profound and moving examination of life and death. The same intelligence and skill is much in evidence in The Truman Show, which is a clever and entertaining examination of media manipulation. The casting of Jim Carrey, who is on-screen in almost every scene, is another triumph. It's hard to believe that the same actor was Ace Ventura ,and half of Dumb and Dumber.

Satirizing the medium of TV is always a risky business - the easiest targets are either too inconsequential to bother with, or have already descended into self-parody. Plus, TV satire is so self-referential and so ephemeral that it is difficult to present a fresh or topical view. Wag the Dog struck it lucky on the topical side but misfired badly with the satire. Oliver Stone took a Blitzreig approach with Natural Born Killers. Weir's style is far more subtle and effective.

The show (and therefore Truman's life) is enclosed in a gigantic filmset, (disguised as an coastal island town) where everything, from the weather to the words and actions of every inhabitant in the town, is strictly controlled by the show's creator, Christof (Ed Harris). Christor feels no guilt at exploiting Truman's life to boost the show's ratings.We learn that the death of Truman's father was engineered to ensure that Truman would fear water (and therefore cannot escape from Seahaven). Christof is hoping to boost ratings even further by capturing the first on-screen conception.

Christof's main concern is that of rogue cast members who have tried to warn Truman of his true situation.The unannounced re-appearance of Truman's 'father' was a protest by the actor when he was axed from the show. Similarly, the mystery girl from Truman's past was another actress who believed the show exploited Truman.

The story examines many aspects of actual TV culture. The tacky talk-show culture of Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake etc. which relentlessly exploit their guests by exposing their foibles (and often provoking them) is the most obvious target. Similarly, the all-devouring nature of TV shows (particularly news channels) which require constant headlines to maintain audience interest is another, particularly in the way that Christof manufactures a crisis or incident to boost the ratings, despite the impact it will have on Truman. Even the audience are accused. Throughout the movie, we glimpse the audience reaction - people who almost vicariously live their lives through Truman's experiences, and absolutely engrossed in the drama without thinking for a moment about the consequences of what they have seen. But Weir never preaches, or try to ram home any particular message. in the year of the 'Monica Lewinsky' affair, and the media frenzy which accompanied the scandal, this is a welcome relief. Instead he has delivered an immensely satisfying movie which lingers in the mind long after the lights go up.
  

Directed by Peter Weir.

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