Rent The Truman Show (1998)

Cinematic Satire At It's Best - The Truman Show review by GI

One of the most startlingly brilliant of modern American films. It's a warm, tender morality tale that delves into the issues of multimedia, obsession with reality TV and soap opera, consumerism and the philosophical themes of what is real, how we perceive the world and the effects of religion and belief in a creator. That's a lot for a film to encompass but The Truman Show manages it all with aplomb. This is also one of Jim Carrey's best films and performances and if you think of him as a zany, manic comic then this will surprise you. He plays Truman Burbank who lives in the idyllic picture postcard town of Seahaven. He grew up there and is married to Meryl (Laura Linney) and works now in an insurance company. He dreams of travel but seems forever trapped in his boring life. What he doesn't know is that the world of Seahaven is a construct and everyone else in his life is an actor pretending to be his friends, relatives and neighbours. All of his life is constantly watched and controlled under the management of Christof (Ed Harris), a megalomanic media mogul. But little incidents start to make Truman suspicious. This is so good, funny but very moving too and asks some interesting questions about modern life and our acceptance of the world we see and experience. This is a unique, intelligent and exceptionally well made film, it's a masterpiece and one you should definitely make sure you see.

A satirical allegorical tale that is totally unique and remarkable - The Truman Show review by Philip in Paradiso

Truman Burbank (Jim Carey) is married to platinum blonde Meryl (Laura Linney). He works in insurance (he enjoys his office job) and has the perfect life of a married man in American suburbia. Truman, however, is not aware of the fact that his life is entirely fake, i.e. that it is part of a reality-TV show. Everybody knows, including his wife and his best friend, but he doesn't. Truman - the result of an unwanted pregnancy - was selected at birth and legally adopted by the TV studio: he is the unsuspecting star of the immensely successful Truman Show. The reality-TV programme is broadcast across the world, 24/7, through hundreds of hidden cameras. Truman's hometown, Seahaven Island, is set inside an enormous, artificial dome. The show's executive producers, based in Los Angeles, control virtually every aspect of Truman's life.

The film is an interesting mixture of genres. It is a comedy in some respects (some moments are hilarious: the TV programme is funded by product-placement adverts inserted in the narrative); it is also a sentimental drama as well as a social drama; and there is an element of science-fiction about the story too. Ultimately, however, it is an allegory about the modern Western world, which is, at heart, a punitive and powerful satire. Small-town America, consumerism and the TV industry are some of the topics satirized very effectively in the movie. The storyline is remarkably prescient: the film was made in 1998, before the internet had taken hold, and before 'reality TV' - with shows such as 'Big Brother' or 'Love Island' - had taken off.

The acting is absolutely perfect. J Carey's performance, as Truman, who is the story's (and the TV show's) central character, is extremely impressive. But all the other actors are very good too. More particularly, L Linney is totally plausible as the 1950s-style incarnation of the perfect American wife. The movie can be read on many levels. There is the issue of agency: is Truman free to leave his artificial paradise, and would he want to if he knew what it really is? As interesting, or more, is of course the issue of truth Vs appearances. In the film, everybody plays a part - except Truman, although his behaviour appears highly conditioned too - but isn't the Truman Show a reflexion of what (real) life is, much of the time? Don't we perform for those around us, in order to please them and to conceal our weaknesses? Certainly, in work situations, this tends to apply. And, with the advent of the internet and social media, the entire world has become a huge stage for a globalized Truman Show that most people appear very happy to take part in.

This film is quite unique and is truly excellent in every respect: it is a masterpiece and a must-see. One last detail that is astonishing and revealing: although the town where Truman lives and works does look like a completely artificial set - some kind of Disney-like caricature of American suburbia - it actually is, unbelievably, a real town that does exist and looks exactly as it does in the movie. The town is called Seaside and is located in Florida. (See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seaside,_Florida) This is the ultimate and ironic blurring of reality-TV, fiction and actual reality. To get further information, you can watch the extras, on the DVD, which explain how the film was shot, and so on.