A brilliant example of how subtlety works in film.

Rating: 10/10 (30 June 2003)

Peter Weir is a genius and this film is the best way to prove it. "Dead Poets Society" was a better movie, but it had a better script to work with and better all around acting. This film rests almost entirely on the shoulders of the more-than-capable Weir.
Thinking about the positive points of this film, it looks like a can't miss: 1. Andrew Niccol's mind providing an idea and a script, but his hands getting nowhere near the camera (he's just too heavy-handed as a director, see "S1m0ne" for proof), 2. Jim Carrey in a dramatic role (the man can act, but he's not funny), and 3. Peter Weir behind the camera but staying away from the script ("Green Card" was okay, but it was a pretty generic script). How could you miss with that? About the only way to improve upon that would be to bring in Kenneth Branagh, Robin Williams, and/or Kellie Martin.
Perhaps the most easily overlooked aspect of this film is the brilliant performance of Laura Linney as Meryl. Her performance is (purposely) more loaded with cheese than many pizzas that I have seen and in fact is the funniest part of the film (which, incidentally, is really a comedy more than a drama or a fantasy). The cheese goes away only when she is truly disturbed by Truman's actions and asks, "How can I be expected to carry on under these conditions? It's just not professional!" How's that for a bit of a subtle nudge at actors?
However, the film is loaded with good performances, especially including that of Jim "I need to quit trying to be funny" Carrey and that of Ed Harris. [THE NEXT TWO SENTENCES CONTAIN A SPOILER] The look on Harris's face after Truman walks out the door is one of the greatest facial expressions I have ever seen: One can see in his face that he has lost, essentially, his son and that his child essentially chose to live in another world without him. The power of that scene cannot be questioned. Meanwhile, Carrey manages to make his loveably quirky, somewhat dull-witted character very believable throughout the film (though he does not have a scene that gives him the ability to create a look with the power of the aforementioned one by Harris).
Yet, the film's power comes mostly from its direction. Weir knows exactly what he is doing with the camera placement. In fact, it is almost as though he has been planning this show in reality. There is never a shot in Seahaven that seems impossible for a camera being used inside the set to portray, and the idea of using the television screens for the cameras in the homes of the average people is amazing. He even consistently manages to bring out Christof's fatherly relationship to Truman in the scenes in Christof's studio (is that what you'd call it?) with the way Christof is almost always looking down at Truman and other small details like that. While Niccol's screenplay is certainly not bad, even a director like Steven Spielburg probably would have ruined this film. It had to be Peter Weir and since it was, the film turned out brilliantly.