it must be some sort of warped critical nightmare : the best movie of the year would be a summer vehicle , a jim carrey vehicle at that .
and so it is .
_ the truman show _ is the most perplexing , crazed , paranoid and rib - tickling morality play i 've seen since i - don't - know - when .
do n't credit carrey .
it starts with andrew niccol ( gattaca ) , who created the script ten years ago .
the story , replete with sublte religious and philisophical undertones , is about a man who discovers that every day of his existence has been televised for a mass audience .
( ironically , it was within these past ten years that " reality - based " television have become a predominant fixture into our culture .
who knew ? )
one - upping niccol
, it was when unlikely candidate - director peter weir took the helm that things fell into place .
weir had the nearly impossible task to create the unimitible tone , deftly mixing capra with kafka , throwing george bailey in a universe inhabited by rod serling .
it was weir 's first stroke of genius to create seahaven : a suburban paradise / prison that would make spielberg cower in shame .
for example , bystander - extras would walk around the block incessantly with flowers along with the latest issue of _ dog fancy _ .
the nicest touch are the plethora of subtle hints for truman to _ not _ leave the island .
credit weir for his second stroke : the casting of carrey .
carrey seems to be the type of character actor who would always turn " on " and act goofy whenever the camera is near .
not here .
his performance is so subverted you sometimes wonder if he is ever aware the camera is on .
and although carrey does not deserve an academy award nomination ( just as well , the academy rarely honors goofy comedians , excepting robin williams ) , he stretches enough to alter his hyper - silly image considerably .
playing one who has the cameras constantly invading his most intimate moments turns to be quite the role of jim carrey 's life .
no pun intended .
better in a smaller , more pivotal role is ed harris as christof , who mixes the right amount of his apollo 13 " work the problem , people " character with dustin hoffman 's megaglomaniac producer in _
wag the dog _ , and then only slightly svengalian .
it is clear that he is torn between the nielson ratings and truman 's well being .
yes , in his own misguided way he loves truman as a father to a son , and has provided the best universe he could provide .
he thinks .
rounding out the cast is natascha mcelhone ( mrs .
dalloway ) as carrey 's true " forbidden love " , sylvia , very effective in another pivotal small role .
laura linney ( congo ) and noah emmerich ( copland ) have the unfortunate task of playing truman 's wife and best friend ; their sitcom - ish dialogue allow little room for any authentic character development .
the exception is at the very beginning , where they speak into the camera , wholeheartedly believing that their participation is truly good for truman , and for society in general .
there are other little problems with the script .
are we to assume that toddler truman had no recollection of hearing the construction of such a gigantic dome during his formative years ?
was there any reason as to why in one scene , it rained solely on truman , even though it never had to ?
how is it they hire hundreds of extras , and none of them could drive a boat , and yet truman , fearful of water , is helming a sailboat effortlessly ? and could n't christof have turned off the wind , to strand truman at sea ?
these little contrivances , however , do not hold a candle to the overall effect of the work .
the audience gets the feeling that it is watching the actual show , and we are drawn to truman 's mundane existence for no other reason than it is there .
the final result effortlessly combines the emotional happy ending of a mainstream picture with a gnawing discomfort that hits you square in the gut . upon leaving the theater , i was looking up in the sky , wondering if it was nothing more than a gigantic dome .
just checking .
it was weir 's first stroke of genius do not hold a candle to the overall effect of the work better in a smaller , more pivotal role the most perplexing , crazed , paranoid and rib - tickling morality play i 've seen since i - don't - know - when very effective in another pivotal small role the nicest touch are effortlessly combines