Satire in high definition

Rating: 7/10 (12 October 2006)

The first one who imagined a concept similar to "The Truman Show" is Plato. It is known today as the "Allegory of the Cave". The great philosopher told the story of a man chained up in a cave and forced to see the shadows made by a fire, assuming that it's the real life. Ultimately, he discovers that what he saw was fake and he tries to accommodate to reality.
Twenty-two hundred years later, Plato is replaced by Australian filmmaker Peter Weir and the sinister cave is now called 'reality television'. The allegory is now called "The Truman Show".
Jim Carrey plays Truman Burbank, an insurance company employee who is also the star of the show, although he's not aware of it. He lives in what for him is Seahaven, which is in fact a giant domed-studio located just outside L.A. He (obviously) never left Seahaven of his life.
Seahaven is supposed to be a peaceful city located on an island on the seaside. In order to keep Truman in the city, the crew finds many ways, including cutting off bridges and simulating a nuclear accident. Moreover, Truman can't leave by the sea because the producers voluntarily infused him with hydrophobia when his father 'died' in a boat accident.
However, in recent days, many strange events occur and lead Truman to believe that something is not right in Seahaven. A 'plane piece' falls from the sky, but Truman finds that it strangely looks like a projector. And there's also that elevator, whose back falls and let see the crew for a second.
This sounds like a crazy and overly exaggerated media satire. But there's one place where "The Truman Show" wins: the timing couldn't have been better. In a modern society where reality shows invade the little screen, "The Truman Show" is a strong metaphor of the dangers and the consequences of permanent broadcasting of a person's life.
The movie is not perfect, but just its concept makes it a winner. The acting is good, especially when you think that this movie is 'fiction-within-fiction'. There are two movies in a single one. Jim Carrey is only aware of half of it and it looks real. Carrey gets one of his greatest roles, mainly because he finally shows what he's able to do and he shows that maniac comedy is not the only thing he can do.
Ed Harris appears as Christof, the creator and the director of the show. He's responsible for the Machiavellian tricks made in order to thwart Truman's escape plans and to keep him in Seahaven. This determination is well-hidden by his cold regard and his continuous calmness.
The greatest characters of the movie are perhaps the viewers themselves, as we regularly see them at different moments. Every time, they're at the same time at the same place, doing the same thing. Just like if there was nothing else to do. Or maybe nothing 'important' to do.
They are the figures that stand for today's reality-show viewers. They're stuck in front of their TVs like if nothing else mattered and there was nothing else to do. Like if it was as essential as breathing. They're not aware that they're wasting their own lives watching the same person living his own life.
There's a quote from Christof that I like: "I am the creator of a television show that gives hope and joy and inspiration to millions." That's how a real TV director would speak. By telling lies. By telling what appear to be good words, which are in fact empty words. This is the kind of hidden quotes that are part of the linking between the satire and the reality.
The only major gap between satire and reality in "The Truman Show" (and perhaps the most arguable aspect of it) is that Truman Burbank is not aware that he's constantly filmed. In reality shows, people know that they're filmed. It's just that the overabundance of cameras and tests ultimately drive them crazy. It would have provided an even more powerful movie, but as long as this movie is good, it's less worrying.
What is different about Plato's allegory and "The Truman Show" is that the latter doesn't have any conclusion. In the Allegory, the man gets out of the cave and has to face the sunlight and, after a long time, he succeeds. The last image we get from Truman is when he gets out from the studio and we never see him contemplating the real world. So we don't know what's gonna happen. We don't know how he will face the sunlight...
We don't see him, so good afternoon, good evening and good night Truman!