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Festivale online magazine, January, 1998 The Truman Show Movie Reviews

Truman Burbank, Virtually EveryMan It's one of the mainstays of science fiction (sf), that things are not as they seem. And one of the classic ideas is someone else is watching. They may be watching through cameras in our own television sets, or in our walls. Is all the world really a stage? Or a gigantic experiment? Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) lives in a super-duper world in the ideal middle-American little town, with good friends, and a loving wife, and his widowed mothers, but he does find their behaviour a bit unaccountable sometimes.

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Which is not really surprising, because he is the centre of the biggest conspiracy of all time. Born unwanted at the right time, he was adopted by a corporation and since that time, every moment of his life has been watched by record-sized audiences. All under the auspices of the all-seeing, all-controlling Christof (Ed Harris). Then one day, like chicken little, Truman has a piece of the sky fall on his head ... Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank in The Truman Show It is hard to believe that anyone's life is interesting enough to make much more than a movie of the week of. Heaven knows the writers and directors and producers find reality somewhat inconvenient at times and requiring a bit of 'oomph'. So what would be the appeal of watching anyone's life blow-by-blow? Surely the vicarious buzz of being an intruding parasite on someone else's existence must eventually pall. Jim Carrey's knack of finding the absurd gives the film credibility, because you can believe that his sense of wonder and humour would open a window to others. The pity is that his audience is not inspired to look at their own lives with better eyes, but rather to clue their eyes to the TV. As for Ed Harris, he is a busy actor, with good reason, giving Christof an omnipotence and twisted humanity at the same time. Ultimately, we know that Truman must come to meet his god, and the question is, what will he do, once he has met his maker?

	by Ali Kayn See also: A Reel Life commentary Bucky's review Jim Carrey also appears in Liar, Liar; Ed Harris also appears in The Abyss, The Right Stuff, Stepmom, Andrew Niccol also wrote Sliding Doors, Gattaca For credits and official site, click here For credits and official site details, click here. Search Festivale for more
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Enter movie, TV show, or person   Provided by Internet Movie Database.	Just the facts: Title: The Truman Show (1998) Written by: Michael Leeson, Andrew M. Niccol Directed by: Peter Weir  Produced by: Edward S. Feldman, Scott Rudin Edited by: William M. Anderson Director of Photography:
	The Players: Jim Carrey, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, Ted Raymond, Philip Baker Hall
	Official website
	For session times of current films, use the cinema listings on the Movie links page. For scheduled release dates, see the coming attractions section.

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Movie images, sounds, and video clips are solely owned by their respective companies. No other uses are permitted without the prior written consent of owner. Use of the material in violation of the foregoing may result in civil and/or criminal penalties. disclaimer Festivale Online Magazine Celebrate everything! www.festivale.info ISSN 1328-8008 Published in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia disclaimers | contact the editor | Festivale revision history Published in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia copyright © Festivale 1999 All rights reserved Filed: 29-Dec-1997 Last updated: 4-Jun-1998 Last tested: 3-Jul-2014 Last Compiled: 3-Jul-2014 Entire site refreshed: Dec 2008-Feb 2009 | Site URL transferred: Jan 2005 (previously www.festivale.webcentral.com.au)