This review originally appeared on the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation’s “Roll Film” movie review site (http://www.biketraffic.org/content.php?id=219_0_6_0). Each film was also reviewed by my CBF colleague, Greg Borzo, who focused more on the bike content.
THE TRUMAN SHOW
4 Wheels (Spoilers Ahead!)
Bicycles have served many functions in movies. They’ve represented everything from childhood innocence to the drive to win, but The Truman Show may be the only cinematic depiction of the bike as an ominous force that hints all is not what it should be. Bikes make up most of the traffic in Seahaven, but how often do you see nurses riding to the hospital in full uniform?
Jim Carrey is Truman Burbank, a likeable everyman who seems just a little off. In fact, his whole town seems a little off, a bit too idealized, as if it were created for a TV show. As The Truman Show slyly teases at and finally reveals, Truman is the unwitting star of his own 24-hour reality television show that follows his every move and is watched by millions worldwide. Everyone he knows is an actor playing a role and Seahaven is, in fact, a giant set.
This is an enormously creative conceit and, happily, all the talent is in top form to make The Truman Show one of the most thought-provoking and emotionally satisfying films of the nineties. Jim Carrey, who was only known for his over-the-top slapstick at the time, proved himself a real dramatic actor (whose talent would shine even brighter in the phenomenal Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.) Little bits of Carrey’s shtick do sneak in, but it makes sense because someone raised in such an environment probably would end up a bit odd.
Laura Linney and Ed Harris give stellar supporting performances. Linney is Truman’s (Stepford?) wife who keeps her husband bewildered by launching into impromptu commercials on a regular basis. She is also the aforementioned bicycle-riding nurse and one of the more unsettling elements in Truman’s life. The always reliable Ed Harris plays Christof, the mastermind behind the Truman Show. Harris does not go for the obvious villain notes, but instead, he views himself as Truman’s surrogate father (not that he doesn't love those ratings.)
Veteran Australian director, Peter Weir, at first seems an unconventional choice for such a high concept film, but just as he did in Witness, Weir expertly empathizes with the experience of being a stranger in a foreign community.
It’s interesting to note that The Truman Show was released at the very beginning of the reality television craze and, as a result, holds it in a much more charitable light than if it had been made today. The filmmakers were naïve enough to portray a television audience satisfied with watching a real life unfold naturally and rooting for their hero’s happiness. How sad that the reverse turned out to be the case, and reality TV shows would mostly become cesspools of exploitation, greed and bringing out the worst in people.
Would we be better off in Seahaven? Like our hero, it’s a decision we all must make individually. Fortunately, once in a while, a special film like The Truman Show comes along to help us dig deeper and be entertained at the same time.
THE TRUMAN SHOW
4 Wheels (Spoilers Ahead!)
Bicycles have served many functions in movies. They’ve represented everything from childhood innocence to the drive to win, but The Truman Show may be the only cinematic depiction of the bike as an ominous force that hints all is not what it should be. Bikes make up most of the traffic in Seahaven, but how often do you see nurses riding to the hospital in full uniform?
Jim Carrey is Truman Burbank, a likeable everyman who seems just a little off. In fact, his whole town seems a little off, a bit too idealized, as if it were created for a TV show. As The Truman Show slyly teases at and finally reveals, Truman is the unwitting star of his own 24-hour reality television show that follows his every move and is watched by millions worldwide. Everyone he knows is an actor playing a role and Seahaven is, in fact, a giant set.
This is an enormously creative conceit and, happily, all the talent is in top form to make The Truman Show one of the most thought-provoking and emotionally satisfying films of the nineties. Jim Carrey, who was only known for his over-the-top slapstick at the time, proved himself a real dramatic actor (whose talent would shine even brighter in the phenomenal Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.) Little bits of Carrey’s shtick do sneak in, but it makes sense because someone raised in such an environment probably would end up a bit odd.
Laura Linney and Ed Harris give stellar supporting performances. Linney is Truman’s (Stepford?) wife who keeps her husband bewildered by launching into impromptu commercials on a regular basis. She is also the aforementioned bicycle-riding nurse and one of the more unsettling elements in Truman’s life. The always reliable Ed Harris plays Christof, the mastermind behind the Truman Show. Harris does not go for the obvious villain notes, but instead, he views himself as Truman’s surrogate father (not that he doesn't love those ratings.)
Veteran Australian director, Peter Weir, at first seems an unconventional choice for such a high concept film, but just as he did in Witness, Weir expertly empathizes with the experience of being a stranger in a foreign community.
It’s interesting to note that The Truman Show was released at the very beginning of the reality television craze and, as a result, holds it in a much more charitable light than if it had been made today. The filmmakers were naïve enough to portray a television audience satisfied with watching a real life unfold naturally and rooting for their hero’s happiness. How sad that the reverse turned out to be the case, and reality TV shows would mostly become cesspools of exploitation, greed and bringing out the worst in people.
Would we be better off in Seahaven? Like our hero, it’s a decision we all must make individually. Fortunately, once in a while, a special film like The Truman Show comes along to help us dig deeper and be entertained at the same time.
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