A quiet, topical observation of society.

Rating: 8/10 (7 June 2015)

A quiet, topical observation of society, The Truman Show is a deep and thoughtful film. The thoughtful premise, expanded under Peter Weir's competent direction and the boundaries of human imagination, its simply delightful to watch.
Jim Carrey's performance is much acclaimed, and deservingly so. He's charming, but he despairs, panics and explodes when the only world he knows begins to collapse around him. He invites empathy and sympathy when the people closest to him turn out to be completely robotic in their approach. In supporting turns, Ed Harris steals every scene as the paternal puppeteering show runner Cristof, a man with nerves of steel and an almost single-minded focus on his passion project. Imagine a diabolical version of Richard Linklater. I also think Laura Linney's performance was hugely underrated - cheerful but out of her depth, hysterical and yet the perfect wife of a TV character.
The screenplay is simply perfect. At times its a thoughtful observation of Christianity, with divine intervention by Cristof, and others its a meaningful reflection on reality television, with everyone rooting for and against his trials. What it does best though, is capture every realistic aspect of such a setting - actors don't know how to respond to spontaneous behaviour, actors force product placement on camera, outsiders campaign for Truman's release. Its all great, right up to the film's closing line.
"What else is on?"