a Sci-fi Parable that would have been more effective if it had been pitched somewhat higher.

Rating: 7/10 (18 January 1999)

A film that provokes thought is always welcome; this entertained and at the same time created certain unforgettably disturbing scenes - as one would expect from a director of this calibre. I'm grateful for that, but when I found myself asking why it hadn't grabbed me as powerfully as some of Weir's other films, I realized that he hadn't really made me CARE what happened to Truman - I could see the horror of the idea, but I felt no real emotional link to the hero. It's significant that IMDb categorizes the film as "Drama/Romance". Romance? That side of the film (= his emotional life) flopped completely, perhaps because the real climax of the film is the revelation of Christof's up-in-space studio: the focus of the film switches totally to the Evil Film-maker and we succumb to the glitter of high-tech film-making, even if we're supposed to be as frightened as we once were by Big Brother. Why were we not shown the full impact of the reunion with his "father"? (What on earth would they have said to each other? What pain/joy would Truman have known?) And why are we not shown the wife walking out? (We're told that it happened. What pain must that have caused!) This sort of gap left the protagonist too one-dimensional - which is a great pity, because the parable is a powerful one, worthy of our full involvement.
Was the casting of Jim Carey responsible? Much as I like him, he seemed far too happy and 'normal' for a product of such an upbringing. There could be no existential angst in such a chirpy grinner (though he did try). Would someone with the permanently perplexed expression of a Harrison Ford have fitted better? Interesting, because then it would have been heavier, less amusing. Amusing? Was it a comedy, then? Perhaps there's a genre-confusion here, too! Comedy/Drama/Romance? It was really a Sci-fi Parable that would have been more effective if it had been pitched somewhat higher. (I was interested to see that, though its publicity attracted youngsters, the large majority of those I talked to - I'm a teacher - didn't enjoy it at all.)