truman ( " true - man " ) burbank is the perfect name for jim carrey 's character in this film .
president truman was an unassuming man who became known worldwide , in spite of ( or was it because of ) his stature .
" truman " also recalls an era of plenty following a grim war , an era when planned communities built by government scientists promised an idyllic life for americans .
and burbank , california , brings to mind the tonight show and the home of nbc .
if hollywood is the center of the film world , burbank is , or was ,
the center of tv 's world , the world where our protagonist lives .
combine all these names and concepts into " truman burbank ,
" and you get something that well describes him and his artificial world .
truman leads the perfect life .
his town , his car , and his wife are picture perfect .
his idea of reality comes under attack one day when a studio light falls from the sky .
the radio explains that an overflying airplane started coming apart .
..
but then why would an airplane be carrying a studio light ?
the next day during the drive to work , the radio jams and he starts picking up a voice that exactly describes his movements .
he is so distracted that he nearly hits a pedestrian .
when the radio comes back to normal , the announcer warns listeners to drive carefully .
his suspicion aroused , he wanders around the town square looking for other oddities .
the world appears to be functioning properly until he enters an office building and tries to take the elevator .
the elevator doors open up on a small lounge with people on coffee breaks .
a grip sees truman him and quickly moves a paneled door , made to look like the back of an elevator , into place .
two security guards grab him and throw him out .
truman is really suspicious now .
it gets even worse the next day when his wife , a nurse , describes an elevator accident in the building where he saw the lounge .
"
it 's best not to think about it , " she says , trying vainly to change truman 's memory .
truman becomes determined to see who or what is behind this apparently elaborate hoax at his expense .
at
every turn he is stopped by an amazing coincidence that just happens to keep him in his own little town .
his last hope is to quell his fear of the ocean and sail to the edge of the world .
you know by now that truman 's life is the subject of a television program .
his actions are " real " but everything else is carefully scripted , from the death of his father to the choice of his wife .
truman is determined to find out what the big hoax is .
meanwhile , christof , the all - seeing creator of truman 's world does his best to keep him unaware and happy .
it 's sort of like westworld told from the robots ' point of view , or jurassic park from the dinosaurs ' point of view .
we root for the captive of the cage - world .
our protagonist is counting on " chaos theory " to help him escape his elaborate trap .
the story , written by andrew niccol ( writer / director of gattaca ) , introduces some interesting questions , such as the ethics of subjecting a person to this type of life , or the psychological impact of learning that your entire life has all been fake .
although these questions came to mind , i do n't think the film itself asked them .
it certainly did n't address them or try to answer them .
i was particularly disappointed that the film did n't deal more with the trauma of learning one 's life
is a tv show .
carrey 's performance at the end showed a smidgen of truman 's pain , but i almost felt that he got over it too easily for the sake of the film 's pacing .
earlier in the movie i found myself wondering if it would be better for truman to find out the truth or whether i should root for him to be well .
the two seemed exclusive of one another , but weir and niccol did n't see it that way .
perhaps it 's not fair to criticize a movie for what it is n't , but it seems like there were some missed opportunities here .
but on its own terms , the movie is well made .
sight , sound and pacing are all handled competently .
much of the first part of the movie is the truman show .
the scenes are all apparently shot from hidden cameras , with snoots and obstructions covering the corners of the screen .
one hidden camera is apparently in his car radio , the green led numbers obscuring the lower part of the screen .
the music is well - chosen and scored .
the film opens with what sounds like family drama theme music , when truman 's world is still beautiful and perfect .
when the movie ends , the score sounds more like a frantic , driven , tangerine dream opus , while still keeping the same timbre .
philip glass ' epic music ( from powaqqatsi ) permeates truman 's scenes of suspicion and awakening .
( glass has a small cameo as a keyboardist for the show . )
and the pacing of the story was brisk .
there was no unnecessarily long setup explaining the concept behind the truman show , just a few quick title cards , a few interviews , and then right into the show , and the movie .
one of the first scenes is of the studio light falling ; there was no token scene of truman 's idyllic life before it falls apart , because it was n't necessary , we pick up the story at the first sign of trouble , and no sooner .
there 's also no point in the movie where the plot slows down .
it 's a quick , straight shot to the movie 's end .
in terms of overall quality , i would compare the truman show to niccol 's gattaca .
both films are well made with interesting stories set in interesting worlds .
but neither film really felt like it capitalized on all the great ideas ; neither film " clicked " and became an instant classic .
nevertheless , i look forward to niccol 's next film , whatever it may be .
Output: P