And the point was . . .?

Rating: 4/10 (4 May 1999)

What I liked about The Truman Show was the setting and the cinematography. The production values are good, which sometimes impresses me more than it should. At least in this case the resulting sense of realism is very satisfying.
But the story seemed muddled and pointless, Truman goes through a random process of discovery, and then breaks free. So what? Can it be possible that the message of this movie is that we watch too much TV? That many of us have trouble distinguishing entertainment from reality? That everything in life is an illusion? If it isn't one of these hoary platitudes, what is it? Even when someone suggested that the movie is an updated version of the escape from the Garden of Eden, and so probably has something to do with loss of innocence, I still end up asking "So what?" There's a dorm-room earnestness about The Truman Show that left me cold. You might love it. It's definitely worth a try.
The Truman Show may be like Citizen Kane, a movie that everyone knows is great but that hardly anyone asks for at the video rental store except extreme cineastes.