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"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one" A. Einstein
5000 hidden cameras to capture life, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second, moment by moment, Truman's life, unaware of being the superstar of a reality show followed by millions and millions of people all over the world.
Everyone saw him born, everyone saw him grow, everyone saw him eat, everyone saw him sleep, everyone heard him fart, everyone saw him make love, and everyone most likely believes they’ll see him die.
The world (a huge and extraordinary set) in which he lives is seemingly perfect, Truman is surrounded by professional actors and hundreds of "extras", each with a very specific role, even his wife is an actress... so his wife only on set. What he believes has happened to him is the result of a script, written and directed by God, the Creator, the one who conceived the "Truman Show" and who in the end will interrupt what for many is a real scandal... "the silence of God". "God" in fact from the sky (even the fake one) will speak directly to his creature.
A film that most probably is still tremendously more relevant today than when it was released, anticipatory and a witness of a society exasperated by the media and TV where reality and fiction blend to the point of becoming two practically indistinguishable elements.
The world of reality shows, "Big Brother", and others are programs of immense success worldwide, a success that literally devours every kind of value and ideal. Privacy is ancient history, appearances come first, we throw a group of idiots in front of cameras (the stupider they are, the better) and entertain the world. At the same time, we make those idiots believe they are important, that they are making a great contribution to society, in short, we make them believe they are true heroes.
Truman is a hero, but he’s unaware of being one, because he didn’t choose to "participate" in the show, he’s even unaware that he was "conceived" to be the protagonist of a show. Truman is a money-making machine, it’s no coincidence that we see in the movie people watching him "from the real world" wearing T-shirts with Truman's face, pillows with Truman's face, huge billboards centered on Truman's face. Truman's life is thus the leisure, illusion, dream of the "anonymous".
Truman will begin to suspect something, too many things start to seem strange to his eyes, scenes that repeat, people who for years have done the same identical things in front of him... in the end, he’ll understand... and will be ready to escape... and to do so he’ll have to face his demons, even those "installed" in his mind by an evil script written and directed always by that "God" who hides above that fake sky. Truman will face the sea, face the waves that God will order his angels (the show's staff) to create to prevent the star from reaching "the end of the world/set". In any case, in front of the whole world Truman will break through the wall!
That wall which represents the end of the set, that wall which will provide Truman the ultimate proof of having lived not in the world but within a world created solely and exclusively for him, a world that used him through hidden eyes (5000 cameras to allow billions of human eyes to see him daily 24 hours a day).
In front of the door that allows entry into the "real world", Truman will hear the voice of God, who will try to convince him to "stay". Truman bids him farewell, does the classic bow, one of those made at the end of a theatrical performance, and leaves.
It’s noteworthy that behind the door nothing can be seen, it’s practically all black! Therefore, it's possible to hypothesize that Truman leaves one hell only to enter another. What kind of life could Truman ever have in the real world if not an infernal one? And despite this "extraordinary event" we find at the end two policemen watching (along with the whole world) the scene... and when it all ends, they don’t seem surprised at all, rather they are eating donuts while wondering what the next show will be. There is nothing anymore that can surprise modern man, everything passes in a matter of seconds, total desensitization to everything. Nothing remains, perhaps even "emotions" have now become mere illusions.
An absolute masterpiece, in my opinion the best film by Peter Weir (he has made many other extraordinary films). Along with "Man on the Moon", it's Jim Carrey's best performance. People my age, used to seeing him in carefree films like "The Mask" or "Ace Ventura" or "Dumb and Dumber", were literally baffled to see "this" Jim Carrey who gifts us here with a beautiful, delicate, moving character... and his performance, I repeat, is nothing short of extraordinary.
A film that can surely move and entertain but seen through another lens can be absolutely ruthless, terrifying. Building an enormous set shaped like a dome visible even from space, creating a life only to create a new kind of "entertainment" is the work of ruthless people, people who can only live in the world where we reside.
"We can’t kill him live" "For that matter, he was also born live"
Perhaps, and I emphasize perhaps, the only ones who have a bit of pity for Truman are those who have given up on life, those who spend their days in front of the TV with a heater beside them to keep warm, certainly the staff and that "God" who created this enormous phenomenon and this immense structure have no pity for Truman, for them, Truman is an object, he is their main interest and main earning, he is the key to their success, the evident proof of their wickedness.
Very likely I will also do a reality show, I'll do it in Siberia... someone recently keeps gifting me a first-class ticket to Siberia so... "just in case I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening and good night"!
VinnySparrow
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