SNMR 2.22: "The Truman Show"
Tonight's SNMR feature is "The Truman Show" (1998, PG, 102 minutes), starring Jim Carrey, Laura Linney, Ed Harris, Noah Emmerich, Natascha McElhone, Peter Krause and Holland Taylor. The film was directed by Peter Weir.I can't remember if the first time I saw this movie was in the theater of if I rented it shortly after it came out on video. Not expecting much, I was pleasantly surprised. I'm not a huge Jim Carrey fan - it seems like you either love his work or he is incredibly annoying but hardly ever in between.
From the DVD's dust case:
All eyes are on Burbank - Truman Burbank, that is. And you'll want to join the masses in taking a fresh new look at this marvel of a movie from Peter Weir (Gallipoli, Witness) in this Special Collector's Edition DVD! Truman (Jim Carrey) is about to discover just how abnormal his seemingly "normal" life is. What he doesn't realize -just yet- is that his whole life is a reality TV show, televised and broadcast for the world to see! The creative genius of Jim Carrey (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events) will amaze and thrill you in this groundbreaking film...
From Martin & Porter's DVD & Video Guide 2007, p. 1182:
Profound and wildly outrageous bit of "theater of the absurd" boasts a cleverly crafted script, a frankly astonishing performance from Jim Carrey, and shrewd directing by Aussie Peter Weir. Carrey's Truman Burbank lives the American dream in a postcard-perfect small town, little realizing that he's the "star" of his own life, being broadcast 24 hours a day to an engrossed world. He's the only one who doesn't know it... although his suspicions are mounting.
I found this movie to be compelling from start to finish. Even though I knew what the premise of the film was, I still found myself rooting for Truman to figure it all out and get out of his bubble. The cast is excellent and the script is original and well-written. The story's pacing flows well and I think this is one of Jim Carrey's best performances. Ed Harris is super as Christof, the director/god controlling Truman's world. Director Peter Weir does an excellent job seamlessly moving from the real world to Truman's world. This is a very enjoyable, heartwarming film. I'll give it four out of five stars.
posted by Tim @ 22:31
3 Comments:
while this is one of the two good films jim carey has ever done (the other being eternal sunshine of the spotless mind), the truman show is directly responsible for unleashing the plague known as reality television on the world.
for this, Peter Weir should suffer greatly
and here's my 'six degrees' style comment:
you know the 'man in bathtub'? (that's how he's credited - you know the one i mean). He came to me for a job once.
Terry Camilleri, who among other roles also played Napoleon in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, came to me looking to run acting workshops for unemployed folks. (I had some funding i was able to distribute)
I turned him down. He's a real nice guy and I've got no problem with him as an actor, but i had actually already funded similar workshops, and they weren't a good fit with the target group.
One of my favorite films.
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