The Truman Show

UK Release: 9th October 1998

Watched on DVD: Tuesday 12th June 2012

Rating: PG

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi

Runtime: 1hr 43mins

Tagline: The World is Watching

IMDb Plot Synopsis: In this movie, Truman is a man whose life is a fake one... The place he lives is in fact a big studio with hidden cameras everywhere, and all his friends and people around him, are actors who play their roles in the most popular TV-series in the world: The Truman Show. Truman thinks that he is an ordinary man with an ordinary life and has no idea about how he is exploited. Until one day... he finds out everything. Will he react?

My Review: The first time I saw this film a few years ago I was blown away by it. This is the sort of film that changes how you think and feel about the world; it’s a very special sort of film. It’s incredible how foresightful the film is considering it was made in the late 1990’s - mere years away from the Big Brother effect and its transformation of the media landscape and society as a whole. It’s such an intelligent look at hyperreality but bringing back to the basics - what it feels like to be Truman himself - throwing up all sorts of moral and ethical questions in the process. The film generates so much debate internally as you’re watching it, it’s really one of the most thought provoking films I’ve ever watched. 

But the concept would be nothing without Truman himself and it is Jim Carrey who really drives this film and its roller-coaster of emotions. He manages to switch from comedy and tragedy in an instant and always make it seem believable. Personally, I believe it to be on par with his performance in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (one of my favourite films) and both are excellent evidence of how much of an outstanding dramatic actor Carrey can be. It is beautifully shot and the location for the town is rightly ‘perfect’ to add to the sinister effects as it all comes crashing down.

But it is the ending that just gets me every single time as it could not be more beautiful - there are so many mixed emotions and not seeing any more, while frustrating, couldn’t be more fitting. It is essentially a solid film that has stood the test of time already and I believe will eventually become a classic as it already is in my mind.

Score: 9/10