The Truman Show

The Truman Show is a 1998 American satirical social science fiction film directed by Peter Weir and written by Andrew Niccol. The cast includes Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, as well as Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, Ed Harris and Natascha McElhone. The film chronicles the life of a man who is initially unaware that he is living in a constructed reality television show, broadcast around the clock to billions of people across the globe. When Truman turns thirty, he becomes suspicious of his perceived reality and embarks on a quest to discover the truth about his life.
The genesis of The Truman Show was a spec script by Niccol, inspired by an episode of The Twilight Zone called "Special Service". The original draft was more in tone of a science fiction thriller, with the story set in New York City. Scott Rudin purchased the script, and instantly set the project up at Paramount Pictures. Brian De Palma was in contention to direct before Weir took over and managed to make the film for $60 million against the estimated $80 million budget. Niccol rewrote the script simultaneously as the filmmakers were waiting for Carrey's schedule to open up for filming. The majority of filming took place at Seaside, Florida, a master-planned community located in the Florida Panhandle.
The film was a financial and critical success, and earned numerous nominations at the 71st Academy Awards, 56th Golden Globe Awards, 52nd British Academy Film Awards and The Saturn Awards. The Truman Show has been analyzed as a thesis on Christianity, metaphilosophy, simulated reality, existentialism and the rise of reality television.
==Plot==
Selected from birth and adopted by a television studio following an unwanted pregnancy, Truman Burbank is the unsuspecting star of The Truman Show, a Hollywood reality television program filmed 24/7 through thousands of hidden cameras and broadcast worldwide. Christof, the show's executive producer, seeks to capture Truman's authentic emotions and give audiences a relatable everyman.
Truman's hometown, Seahaven Island, is situated within a massive dome that is visible from space. It is inhabited by crew members and actors who promote products to both Truman and the audience to fund the show. This intricate set-up enables Christof to manipulate nearly every aspect of Truman's life, including the weather. To keep Truman from uncovering the truth, Christof designs events that dampen his exploratory spirit, such as staging his father's "death" in a maritime storm to induce thalassophobia, and perpetually airs warnings about the perils of travel and the benefits of remaining home.
During his college years, Truman, who had originally planned to marry his fellow student Meryl, instead finds himself developing feelings for Sylvia, an extra. Even after Sylvia is removed from the show before she can reveal the truth to Truman, he secretly continues to yearn for a life with her beyond his marriage to Meryl and aspires to travel to Fiji, where he believes Sylvia has relocated. His attempts to book a deliberate flight to find Sylvia are consistently thwarted. Meanwhile, in the real world, Sylvia becomes part of the "Free Truman" activist group, which seeks to end the show and secure Truman's freedom. Subsequently, Truman takes up a position as an accountant.
As the show nears its 30th anniversary, Truman starts to notice strange events, like a spotlight falling from a clear sky, rain showering only him, a radio broadcast narrating his movements, and his supposedly deceased father's brief reappearance before being hastily removed by the crew. Taking a different route from his office, he encounters a cabin crew with headsets and is abruptly ejected. Meanwhile, as his mother and Meryl converse privately, Truman inspects his wedding album and sees Meryl's fingers crossed, suggesting her insincerity. He begins to doubt his reality, sensing that the city revolves around him. His best friend Marlon offers a listening ear while drinking, troubled by the constant deception.
One day, Truman surprises Meryl with a road trip. However, a series of increasingly unlikely emergencies obstruct their path, leading to Truman's nervous breakdown when an unfamiliar police officer calls him by name. Truman then breaches the border, only to be apprehended and returned to town. Back home, as Meryl bizarrely advertises a product, Truman, overwhelmed with doubt and hostility, confronts her at knifepoint for answers. In response, she breaks character, calls for help, and is removed from the show. To regain control, Christof reintroduces Truman's father, feigning amnesia from the boating accident. The show's ratings recover, and Truman appears to revert to his usual self. Yet, Christof soon realizes that Truman has been spending extended periods inactive in his basement. Sending Marlon to investigate, he uncovers Truman's escape through a secret tunnel, evading the cameras. In an unprecedented move, Christof halts the broadcast for the first time in its history, drawing a massive audience upon its return.
Christof commands a citywide search for Truman and eventually disrupts the production's day-night cycle to enhance the search efforts. Truman, overcoming his thalassophobia, is discovered sailing away from Seahaven. The actors cannot pursue him. Christof then restarts the broadcast and conjures a fierce storm, trying to overturn Truman's boat. Despite nearly drowning, Truman's resolve stays intact, and he sails on until his vessel collides with the dome's wall.
Initially overwhelmed by the realization of his fabricated existence in Seahaven, Truman discovers a staircase leading to an exit. As he weighs his departure, Christof, through a speaker system, urges him to remain, asserting that the real world holds no greater truth than the one he knows, which is devoid of fear. Reflecting briefly, Truman delivers his signature line: "In case I don't see you... good afternoon, good evening, and good night," takes a bow for his audience, and departs. Globally, viewers rejoice over Truman's liberation, and Sylvia rushes to meet him. The show concludes with Christof's team cutting to the open exit door, leaving viewers to switch channels. It is believed that Truman joins Sylvia and embarks on a life of exploration.
==Cast==
*Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank: Chosen out of six unwanted pregnancies and the first child to be legally adopted by a corporation, he is unaware that his daily life is broadcast continuously around the world. He has a job in the insurance business and a lovely wife, but he eventually notices that his environment is not what it seems to be. Robin Williams was considered for the role, but Weir cast Carrey after seeing him in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective because Carrey's performance reminded him of Charlie Chaplin. Carrey took the opportunity to proclaim himself as a dramatic actor, rather than being typecast in comedic roles. Carrey, who was then normally paid $20 million per film, agreed to do The Truman Show for $12 million. Carrey and Weir initially found working together on set difficult (Carrey's contract gave him the power to demand rewrites), but Weir was impressed with Carrey's improvisational skills, and the two became more interactive. The scene in which Truman declares "this planet Trumania of the Burbank galaxy" to the bathroom mirror was Carrey's idea.
*Laura Linney as Hannah Gill playing Meryl Burbank, Truman's wife, a nurse at the local hospital. Since the show relies on product placement for revenue, Meryl regularly shows off various items she has recently "purchased," one of the many oddities that makes Truman question his life. Her role is essentially to act the part of Truman's wife and ultimately to have a child by him, despite her reluctance to accomplish either. Linney explains that Gill "was a child actress who never made it, and now she's really ambitious. Mostly she's into negotiating her contract. Every time she sleeps with Truman she gets an extra $10,000." Linney heavily studied Sears catalogs from the 1950s to develop her character's poses.
*Ed Harris as Christof: The creator of The Truman Show. Christof remains dedicated to the program at all costs, often overseeing and directing its course in person (rather than through aides), but at the climax/resolution, he speaks to Truman over a loudspeaker, revealing the nature of Truman's situation. Dennis Hopper was originally cast in the role, but he left in April 1997 (during filming) over "creative differences." Harris was a last-minute replacement. A number of other actors had turned down the role after Hopper's departure. Harris had an idea of making Christof a hunchback, but Weir did not like the idea.
*Noah Emmerich as Louis Coltrane playing Marlon, Truman's best friend since early childhood. Marlon is a vending machine operator for the company Goodies, who promises Truman he would never lie to him, despite the latest events in Truman's life. Emmerich has said, "My character is in a lot of pain. He feels really guilty about deceiving Truman. He's had a serious drug addiction for many years. Been in and out of rehab." His name is an amalgam of two jazz musicians, Louis Armstrong and John Coltrane, and in one scene he plays trumpet.
*Natascha McElhone as Sylvia (unknown last name) playing Lauren Garland (Truman's college schoolmate): Sylvia was hired to play a background extra, a fellow student at Truman's college, named Lauren. She became romantically involved with Truman and tried to reveal to him the truth about his life, but was thrown out of the show before she could do so. She then becomes a protester against The Truman Show, urging Christof to release its lead.
*Brian Delate as Walter Moore playing Kirk Burbank, Truman's father. When Truman was a boy, his character on the show was killed off to instill a fear of water in his son that would prevent Truman from leaving the set; however, he sneaks back onto the set when Truman is an adult. This causes Truman to begin questioning his staged life, and as he tries to get away from it the writers are forced to write a plot in which Kirk had not drowned but had suffered from amnesia.
*Holland Taylor as Alanis Montclair playing Angela Burbank, Truman's mother: Christof orders that she attempt to persuade Truman to have children.
*Harry Shearer (cameo appearance) as Mike Michaelson (news anchor): Michaelson hosts TruTalk, an entertainment-news program about The Truman Show that broadcasts early in the morning.
*Paul Giamatti as Simeon (control room director).
*Peter Krause as Laurence (Truman's boss): At Truman's office, Laurence often interrupts Truman when he talks about his dreams of moving to Fiji.
*Philip Glass, who composed and performed some of the film's soundtrack, makes a cameo appearance as the incidental keyboard player.
== Reception ==
=== The Truman Show delusion ===
Joel Gold, a psychiatrist at the Bellevue Hospital Center, revealed that by 2008, he had met five patients with schizophrenia (and had heard of another twelve) who believed their lives were reality television shows. Gold named the syndrome "The Truman Show delusion" after the film and attributed the delusion to a world that had become hungry for publicity. Gold stated that some patients were rendered happy by their disease, while "others were tormented". One traveled to New York to check whether the World Trade Center had actually fallen—believing the 9/11 attacks to be an elaborate plot twist in his personal storyline. Another came to climb the Statue of Liberty, believing that he would be reunited with his high school girlfriend at the top and finally be released from the show.
Category:Films
Truman Show
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