ROLL-M: Movie Review

By Susan Sackett

Media saturation being as all-pervasive these days, there probably aren’t many Greater Phoenix M’s who haven’t been exposed to at least some fragments of the plot and many of the juicier clips from the latest sensation to hit the big screen, The Truman Show. Let me just add my voice to the hosannas being sung by virtually every movie critic, and sum it up in two words: SEE IT.

That having been said, here’s why:

It’s the cleverest piece of cinema to come down the pike in ages.

Don’t be thrown off by those ubiquitous clips, thinking you’ve been shown all the best parts (as many movie trailers these days are wont to do). This movie is a pleasure from beginning to surprise ending.

In case you haven’t heard, here’s the plot: Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey, in an Oscar-worthy performance) is the unsuspecting star of a worldwide television show that’s been running for thirty years. Adopted by a corporation at birth (and even appearing on television in the womb as a mere fetus), Truman’s life is a soap opera more addicting than the recent O.J. Simpson saga. His best friend, neighbors, wife and the people in his town are all actors, performing on the world’s largest soundstage, all unbeknownst to Truman.

Then one day, things begin to unravel, and he begins to question. And to try to escape.

Carrey fans who’ve come to expect toilet humor and rubber-face stretching will be pleased to discover a performer who can actually act, instead of act up. There was a hint of this in Liar, Liar, but this is the role Carrey has been waiting for. His career should take off, er, dramatically after this film. Carrey’s Truman is indeed a True Man, an Everyman with whom the audience can easily identify. "Big Brother" is watching us. In our own workaday lives, the camera’s unblinking eye is there to observe us at the ATM, in the convenience store whether we purchase a six-pack or pull a stick-up, in airports and other public places – the list grows longer each day. We are all stars of our own show.

Ed Harris, as the deus ex machina director of the long running "The Truman Show" (aptly named "Christof") is both parent and captor. (No mentioned is made of whether or not he has been with the show for its entire 30 years, a slight flaw in the story, given his age.) Christof sits on high, hidden in the artificial moon (always full, and incorrectly shown next to the always-gloriously-setting sun). The best line in the movie belongs to Harris: "Cue the sun!" he bellows, like God in the firmament. The analogy is not coincidental; when Truman later learns of his situation, he asks Christof who he is. "I am the Creator…" he says with only a slight pause, "…of a television show." This is a film ripe for theologian discussion, likely to be analyzed and dissected for hidden meaning for years to come.

Many astute Mensans will no doubt realize that this is not an original concept. Those familiar with the 1960s television series, "The Prisoner," will find obvious comparisons to that show’s paranoia. The big, bouncing white ball may be missing, but Truman’s attempts to escape are thwarted in much the same way. And the TV control room is similar to the center where each week the "new Number Two" watched from on high. And some may remember the classic "Star Trek" episode (#65) from the third season, called "For the World Is Hollow, and I Have Touched the Sky," about an entire society who don’t realize they are on an artificial world.

None of this matters. The bottom line is still: SEE IT.

FIVE OWLS (OUT OF FIVE – A REAL HOOT!)