The Truman Show

My wife really wanted to revisit this film, so we rented it with our 30day pass from Blockbuster and watched it last night. It’s interesting to note that I too was interested to revisit this film and did so towards the end of last year. I remember how much I adored it when I first saw it, and those feelings haven’t changed in the slightest. The film follows Truman who then starts to realize that everything in his “little world is revolving around him; traffic stops at his command, crew members are hiding behind elevator doors and scatter when he pulls back the curtain, and he cannot leave his little town for some reason (forest fires, bridges, and nuclear power plant leaks all play a role here). The crux is that he has been TV’s little star since he was born. Every day of his life has been documented by thousands of cameras. America’s true reality show.

Director Peter Weir has been telling amazing stories for his whole career. WITNESS, DEAD POETS SOCIETY, and PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK (which we reviewed during one of my film courses. I think it was Film and Feminisms). So he’s no stranger to creating a whole new world for the audience to enjoy on the silver screen. And TTS might be my favorite work of his to date.

The film just sucks you in. You’re right there fighting with Truman and hoping he figures out the falsified world that he lives in. Truman Burbank embodies such a well-known character that we cannot help but associate and become engaged with him. He’s the little guy that has been taken advantage of and is too innocent to either know or do anything about it – and that pulls on the public’s heart strings for sure. I originally thought that this was a Ron Howard film, but after the credits Peter Weir’s name flashed onto the screen. Either way, they both are amazing stories tellers that have a keen ability to create characters that we all care about.

Rating: 9.5/10
RT: 95% (I swear I didn’t cheat here!! Man, I’m good…)