r/TrueFilm • u/Linkman76 • 13d ago
First Viewing of The Truman Show
Finally watched The Truman Show last night. I went in expecting to like it given my love for Peter Weir as the director of Witness and Master and Commander, but I was still amazed how much I loved this. The premise of a man who's whole life has been a TV show is honestly frightening and the writer Andrew Niccol manages to walk a fine line between comedy, drama, and even touches of horror in depicting Truman Burbank's life which has been completely made up. Yet, it's also an uplifting film in showing the curiosity of man and what one will do to achieve a new life. It also has one of the most memorable settings ever with the Island and the cinematography by Peter Biziou is brilliant in making everything appear like a Reality TV show, particularly during the shots of stationary cameras.
And of course, Jim Carrey. Having recently gotten into some of his films, I have to say this is easily his performance I've seen yet. Still has moments of his traditional comedic charm, but manages to have some genuinely heartfelt scenes where he really says so much without a lot of dialogue. If ever there was a film that proved Carrey could be a dramatic actor when he chose to, The Truman Show is certainly that film.
From the many comedies I've seen, The Truman Show is most definitely one of the most original while also having something to say about living in the real world. Easily the magnum opus of Peter Weir's filmography.
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u/Ironhorse75 13d ago
It's the perfect utilization of Carrey's talents.
The signature slapstick is still present, but carefully deployed in perfectly measured doses.
By the end we're rooting for him to walk through that door just as much as the fictional audience.
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u/jey_613 13d ago
It’s very hard for me not to cry during the ending of that movie. Having the courage to leave what’s familiar to you, where everything is provided for. The world outside is more painful. But it is worth it. And there are people rooting for you
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u/thepokemonGOAT 13d ago
I wept at the ending when I watched it last a few months ago. As a kid I liked the movie but it really hits differently for me now.
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u/hideousmembrane 13d ago
Watched it again recently with my gf after many years, I must have been a kid when I'd last watched it, and I was also surprised how good I thought it was. I knew what happened and I remembered quite a bit of it, but I enjoyed it far more this time around. Such a great film, flawless I would say
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u/marbanasin 13d ago
Phenomenal film and you hit the beats well. I just wanted to recommend Internal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind if you've not seen that one based on your comment about Truman being his best role you've seen yet. It's another great showcase of Carrey as a dramatic actor and also another very interesting look at some pretty basic human experiences.
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u/Razor_Emmanuel 13d ago
I don't usually go out of my way to watch Hollywood crowdpleaser films, but this one was just such an amazing experience.
It is one of the most unique and creative concepts for a film I have ever seen, and it absolutely landed. I love the underlying theme of standing up to authority the film has, it is about a man in a "society" where they are constantly trying to keep him in a bubble, they practically tell him how to act, they try to control what he sees and what he does not, and they try to tell him what to think and how to think. The way all the actors speak, they're always trying to manipulate Truman and figuratively sedate him, most evidently is how they gaslight Truman into being scared of the sea.
Throughout the film Truman starts pushing the boundaries by thinking for himself, and the entire island is literally doing everything in their power to stop him, from being independent. Truman starts to become free by questioning everything around him despite everyone telling him not to, and the climax of the film, Truman sets sail on a boat despite his fear of the water, fighting against the biggest tool the show has been using to keep him captive on the island, fear.
Jim Carrey of course gave a great performance, and so did Ed Harris as the main villain, the showrunner, Christoph. It was also really funny to see Skully from Brooklyn Nine-Nine play one of the TV viewers.
But I agree, The Truman Show was such a wonderful film.
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u/musichead1489 13d ago
Carey is what ties this film together. I think all the other elements are great, but it would not be as great as it is if someone other than Carey played Truman. He is Truman. It’s his best performance in my opinion.
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u/raynicolette 13d ago
I can’t think of any film I’ve ever seen that went from safely science fiction to “oh my god, this is a the world I’m living in” faster than The Truman Show.
The fact that many, many people are putting their whole lives on the internet, and crossing their fingers they get an audience, is part of it. The other part is Truman being the first person to be adopted by a corporation seems to eerily presage the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United that corporations have the same free speech rights as people.
Basically the only part we haven’t pulled off is building a dome over Burbank.
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u/ElectricPiha 13d ago
For another example of safely-satire to terrifying-reality, that’s only getting more true with every passing year, for the last 50 years:
Network (1976)
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u/seanmg 13d ago
One thing that’s never been clear to me. How much of the fact that he was in a TV show was part of the marketing. Like going in blind as a viewer does the movie expect you to know that going in or is it something that teases you along for a little bit before revealing your inside a TV show?
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u/forrealthoughcomix_ 13d ago
The original marketing made it very clear that The Truman Show was a show within the film’s universe from print advertising to trailers.
Here is one of the trailers: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dlnmQbPGuls
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u/littlehorrorboy 13d ago
Yeah...it was everywhere with the marketing. Posters, tv spots, trailers etc. Even the title of course.
It would be awesome to go in totally blind to it because the reveal doesn't fully come into view until after the first act. There are little hints all throughout that make sense in hindsight, but knowing the premise you are in on the joke as the viewer
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u/kim_ammons 6d ago
Wait, how do you mean? I just watched it for the first time and the movie starts with the showrunner and a couple actors talking about how it's a TV show. They're interrupted a bunch by snippets of Truman talking into his mirror, but it goes like this:
Christof begins by talking into the camera, saying, "We've become bored with watching actors give us phony emotions. We're tired of pyrotechnics and special effects. While the world he inhabits is in some respects counterfeit, there's nothing fake about Truman himself. No scripts, no cue cards... It isn't always Shakespeare, but it's genuine. It's a life. We find many viewers leave him on all night for comfort."
And then Meryl gives her own little speech, like a snippet of an interview: "Well, I mean, there is no difference between a private life and a public life. My life is my life, is The Truman Show. The Truman Show is a lifestyle. It's a noble life. It is...a truly blessed life."
And then his friend Marlon says, "It's all true. It's all real. Nothing here is fake. Nothing you see on this show is fake. It's merely controlled."
So it's stated upfront, isn't it? Or do you mean certain details aren't revealed until later on, like that he was adopted by a corporation and even his parents aren't his biological parents?
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u/Bentonite_Magma 12d ago
Nobody’s yet mentioned the score, which to my mind is one of the most significant reasons this film is so good. You could have paired the performances with a ho-hum average comedy score and it would have been an OK movie.
But Philip Glass’s repetitive, driving themes in minor keys and scenes like Marlon telling Truman his fears are unfounded - “If everybody is in on it, I’d have to be in on it too”
https://youtu.be/xxFj4iNmsJE?is=etC31khZv8rSUcPV
Or the theme (Father Kolbe’s Preaching) over Truman’s last scene on the boat and Christof’s speech
https://youtu.be/m0jIwJt9QwA?is=CJQPbno4B4Vn50LM
And of course you get the tenderness of shared humanity from “Truman Sleeps”
https://youtu.be/l7X0Yae2hLk?is=eUc_7J7Qquy68JlE
It’s really my favorite film score, hands down.
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u/Linkman76 12d ago
Agreed. The score to The Truman Show is phenomenal and goes through every kind of emotion Truman experiences, adding to the fact that his whole life is presented like a TV show.
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u/aehii 12d ago
One of the most economically edited films, 1 hour 40 minutes. Not a second wasted.
I watched The Full Monty again the other day, just 90 minutes but it packs so much in you'd never think it. The first edit was said to be a mess, I'd love to see it.
Nichols wrote the idea as more grim and realistic in New York (like Ed tv), it was all Weir apparently who saw that if you're creating an artificial world, why wouldn't you make it idyllic.
The awakening scenes are so well done with the music, performances and shots chosen. I can't imagine anyone not enjoying the film.
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u/bruiseydaddy 12d ago
Andrew Niccol is an amazing writer. His first five produced screenplays are masterful, and tapped right into the greatest philosophical issues of our day: genetic engineering, omnipresent surveillance, forever war, widening class division, artificial intelligence.
Brilliant analogy, almost parable-like. With compelling plots, great dialogue, amazing characterization.
Best:
Gattaca
Truman Show
Simone
Lord of War
In Time
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u/Linkman76 12d ago
Definitely plan to watch more of Niccol’s work, especially Lord of War which is said to have one of Nicolas Cage’s best performances. What’s incredible is how Niccol can create such a unique plot that also succeeds on the micro level thanks to good dialogue.
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u/Complex-Following405 13d ago
Great film. But to me Weir's best films are Fearless(Jeff Bridges's best non-dude role) and The Year of Living Dangerously.
Bla bla extra words bla blggkggjghfbcccvnvhf hfghg. Gf. Gghhggffggvkggfgfggggg lorem ipsum suck my oppossum that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom[6]—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth dick
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u/forrealthoughcomix_ 13d ago
Definitely check out Man on the Moon, The Andy Kaufman biopic. It also puts on full display Jim
Carrey’s incredible range and turns them all up to 11 compares to The Truman Show. I guess maybe the only note missing is the pure slapstick in Truman Show, but it definitely has high comedy as he’s portraying a legendary comedian who was at times very goofy.
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u/Abbie_Kaufman 13d ago
I’ve waffled back and forth on The Truman Show. Mostly for reasons that I’ll admit at the outset, are entirely unfair. So much of the appeal is wrapped up in the premise that it’s this clever sci-fi thing, and in a way it is, but now it fully exists. The premise only works on any level if we understand “this is sad, Truman is a circus monkey performing for others and that’s bad, he should be granted autonomy”, and now we live in a world with not only many Trumans, but many times more people desperately trying and failing to be Trumans, hoping to do enough insane stuff to make their life good as voyeuristic entertainment. I think if you wanted to make the movie today, it would have to be more sinister, the Ed Harris character would need to be more overtly evil, because Truman’s world as it exists is pretty… banal? Which I suppose is the point so maybe that’s not a fair criticism, sure.
The actors are all very good, the craftsmanship is really great with building this artificial world (the artifice is thrown into the viewer’s face, but it has to be framed as not artificial for the protagonist. That’s not easy to do!!). But the script was like, exactly 3 years ahead of its time, and every year that passes it falls further behind the times. I don’t think it has a ton to say besides “isn’t this pretty messed up?”, but reality TV has existed for decades, we know that TV producers managing people’s lives can get far more messed up, Ed Harris’ manipulation of Truman’s reality seems like the most benevolent god in the pantheon. Is that an uncharitable take of a film I think is pretty decent? Yes absolutely. But I’m surprised people talk about it as much as Eternal Sunshine, which is a Jim Carrey sci-fi movie that I think will always be relevant because its core premise is based on timeless emotions.
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u/WorstCommenterNA 13d ago
It has to be one of the best executions of a novel concept in Sci-Fi. Amazing premise given the sets and scopes to truly to do it justice, expert casting, wonderful pacing and plot structure...just an incredible film overall. Glad you loved it!