The Truman Show (1998)

Directed by: Peter Weir | 103 minutes | drama, comedy, science fiction | Actors: Jim Carrey, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, Natascha McElhone, Ed Harris, Natascha McElhone, Holland Taylor, Brian Delate, Blair Slater, Peter Krause, Heidi Schanz, Ron Taylor, Don Taylor, Ted Raymond, Judy Clayton, Fritz Dominique, Angel Schmiedt

‘The Truman Show’ Was Jim Carrey’s Breakthrough in the normal movies. This comedy shows a completely different side of Carrey and makes us forget his ridiculous yet amusing roles as in ‘The Mask’ (1994) and ‘Ace Ventura’ (1994). The flexibility of Jim’s face is not central to the change in this film and for 99 minutes this is quite a relief. The career change was short-lived because the serious Carrey really goes wrong in ‘The Majestic’ (2001) and let’s be honest, we see the pleasantly insane Carrey prefer to do what he still does best, crazy faces Pull.

Director Peter Weir (“Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The World” (2003)) shows American television as it is. Besides the fact that every ten minutes a commercial break is pasted, the programs themselves are also full of (hidden) promotions of articles. Drinks, garden tools and knife sets are depicted in a subtle way. This clearly shows that the grass in the vicinity of a hidden camera grows faster than the rest, so that the brand of the lawn mower is clearly visible when mowing that part. These little details make the film especially funny. The production blunders leading up to Burbank’s discovery are just as laughable. As the denouement draws nearer, the number of mistakes increases dramatically because it is difficult to coordinate a life that is unpredictable. The search for the truth presents an almost impossible task for the direction of the show.

Jim Carrey holds his own, even in the surprisingly good emotional parts. He is supported by Laura Linney, among others, who plays Truman’s wife. Linney is good but is still in the shadow of Natascha McElhone. This incomprehensibly unknown actress from ‘Ronin’ (1998) and ‘Solaris’ (2002) delivers another outstanding performance. Ed Harris is also very good as the producer/director of the reality soap.

The story of ‘The Truman Show’ is original and gripping. Jim Carrey shows that he can do something different than what we are used to from him. ‘The Truman Show’ is the first soap ever that you must see.