Truman's Adventures in TV Land

Rating: 9/10 (1 August 2005)

When we first meet Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey), he just seems like and ordinary, chipper guy, living an ordinary life. Married to the beautiful Meryl (Laura Linney)he seems to be just fine.
But as he leaves for work, a piece of lighting equipment falls from a clear blue sky. You soon realize that Truman's life is far from fine.
And that is the premise of "The Truman Show," directed by Peter Weir. Truman wants to leave his town of Seahaven and see the world, but he slowly realizes that the town doesn't want him to leave. And with good reason. He is the star of an incredibly popular worldwide show, only he doesn't know this.
His whole life, from womb to man, has been televised. Created by Christof (Ed Harris), the town people (Including his wife and parents)are actors, each one of them manipulating Truman's emotions and responses. Christof even creates a way to keep Truman from leaving: His "father" died in a boating accident, causing young Truman to be afraid of water.
But as much as Christof can try to control Truman, he fails. Truman becomes rebellious, trying desperately to escape his existence. More importantly, he is in love with a girl named Lauren(Natascha McElhone), who he met in school, but was taken away (She tried to tell Truman the truth).
In one of the film's most dramatic scenes, Truman has escaped the town by sailboat, conquering his fear of the water. Christof, playing God to the end, calls upon the elements to stop him (sun, storms,lightning), trying to crush the very thing that he created. When Truman reaches the end of the line (In the form of a sky blue wall), Christof speaks to him from the sky as like the voice of God, trying to coax him to remain.
In a world in which every network has at least 1 reality television show, "The Truman Show" is not as effective as when it was first released. However, you may say that the film may have brought home the point that we as viewers are fascinated with watching someone else's life unfold in front of our eyes.
Carrey's performance is incredible, clearly showing he has dramatic range. It's too bad that he can't do this more often, but audiences prefer him to make them laugh instead.
For the longest, I had a huge beef with the way it ended, in which Truman walks through the door and out of the show forever. I had wished they could have shown us what would happen after he left. However, I finally understood why they did not. Truman had been trapped by fear (the fear of water, for example). When Christof talks to Truman, trying to convince him to stay, he tells Truman that the world he is about to enter is different from the world he is leaving: the real world is full of lies, deceit and horrors. Truman's world is a place where none of those fears exist. When Truman steps through the door, going into the real world, you realize that Truman has truly conquered his fears after all. He steps into this brave new world, unafraid of what will happen to him.
Still, it would have been nice for us to see him reunite with Lauren/Sylvia. But deep down, you know that they will.
Great film to watch.