A Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (6 January 2006)

I remember when this movie first came out in the theater, and I had a chance to catch it. Back then, it was considered a vast departure for Jim Carrey, seeing as he's only been in comedies such as the Ace Ventura movies. In retrospect, "The Truman Show" was only a harbinger of the kind of acting he could do. But it wasn't his movie alone, Andrew Niccol's script and Peter Weir's direction and the rest of the cast that make this movie work on so many levels.
One level in which "The Truman Show," along with its counterpart, "Ed TV" works, is that both movies pre-date the whole "reality TV" craze by a good 2 or 3 years. Oh, we had "The Real World" but that was the extent of it...this was before MTV was milking its incarnations for all its worth, and definitely before "Survivor," "The Simple Life," and those "Celebreality" shows on VH1. The scenes in which people react to the things Truman does and hang on his every movement is no different than how people tune in for the next episode of "Survivor" waiting on who will be "voted off the island." Another theme that is evident in the movie is the desire for absolute control as shown in the character of Christof. He has structured Truman's world as to who could or couldn't talk to him, using any means necessary to keep him on the island, and ultimately losing. While it seems that Christof has a connection to Truman, he is merely a means to an end, which is a televised life, from cradle to grave.
One thing that I need to point out again is Jim Carrey's acting. "The Truman Show" is his first serious role, departing from the sight-gag movies of his earlier career. His acting is so reserved, and yet, there are funny moments of his, but it doesn't break from the tone of the movie or his overall character. Everyone was caught by surprise in this apparent 180, especially film critic duo Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. They were so impressed by Carrey that they publicly apologized to him for panning "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective." Overall, this movie, I like to fall under the category one of the best films ever made. On my hierarchy of movies, I would put this under "Worth full price/add this to your DVD collection." Grade: A+