A Beautiful Tribute to the Universal Desire for Freedom

Rating: 9/10 (4 September 2019)

"The Truman Show" is a moving, beautiful movie that never gets old. Almost everything about it is absorbing, multi-layered, and ultimately inspiring in a way that few movies are. Director Peter Weir uses powerful imagery and riveting performances to tell a timeless story about humankind's unending quest for freedom, with Truman (a "true man") at the center. I love the film's story, which uses its ingenious premise to critique a global culture increasingly dominated by celebrity obsession and "reality" TV. In a "post-truth" environment where the leader of the free world is a former reality TV star, "The Truman Show" couldn't be more relevant. The finale is easily one of the best ever in cinema history and Ed Harris' performance is perhaps the finest of his career - the fact that he didn't win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor astounds me.
I want to give "The Truman Show" a perfect 10/10, but I can't due to the movie's narrative problems. The logic of the film's world (the explanation for how Truman was "adopted" by the studio or why Truman never discovered his whole life was a show until his 30s) isn't laid out until the movie's third act, making the central premise hard to believe for most of the film. A basic rule of screenwriting is you're supposed to establish the setting at the beginning, not the end. Of course the movie's premise is so good that I mostly ignore this problem while I watch it, but I'm still left wondering why the State of California allowed a corporation to adopt a child or hold a man against his will - questions the movie never answers. I'm usually willing to overlook plot holes if they don't hurt the overall viewing experience, but even after watching "The Truman Show" multiple times I have a hard time finding the central premise believable. I know it's fiction, but even "Star Wars" and "Lord of the Rings" operate within the suspension of disbelief.
"The Truman Show" isn't flawless. But so what? Movies don't have to be. Like people we enjoy them despite not being 100% perfect because of the way they make us feel and better appreciate the experience of being human. "The Truman Show" inspires me every time I watch it and I can't wait to see it again. 9/10.