The Truman Show
The Truman Show is a 1998 American psychological science fiction comedy-drama film directed by Peter Weir, produced by Scott Rudin, Andrew Niccol, Edward S. Feldman, and Adam Schroeder, and written by Niccol. The film stars Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, a man who grew up living an ordinary life that—unbeknownst to him—takes place on a large set populated by actors for a television show about him. Eventually, he discovers the truth and decides to escape. Additional roles are performed by Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, Natascha McElhone, Holland Taylor, Ed Harris, Paul Giamatti and Brian Delate.
The Truman Show was originally a spec script by Niccol, inspired by a 1989 episode of The Twilight Zone called "Special Service". Unlike the finished product, it was more of a science-fiction thriller, with the story set in New York City. Scott Rudin purchased the script, and set up production at Paramount Pictures. Brian De Palma was to direct before Weir signed as director, making the film for $60 million—$20 million less than the original estimate. Niccol rewrote the script while the crew was waiting for Carrey to sign. The majority of filming took place at Seaside, Florida, a master-planned community located in the Florida Panhandle.
The film was a financial success, debuting to critical acclaim, and earned numerous nominations at the 71st Academy Awards, 56th Golden Globe Awards, 52nd British Academy Film Awards and The Saturn Awards. The Truman Show has been analyzed as a thesis on Christianity, metaphilosophy, simulated reality, existentialism, surveillance, privacy and reality television.
Plot
Truman Burbank is the unsuspecting star of The Truman Show, a reality television program broadcast live around the clock worldwide. He has spent his entire life in the seaside town of Seahaven Island—in reality an enormous set visible from space—situated near Hollywood on Mount Lee and equipped with state-of-the-art technology to simulate day and night and weather conditions. There are 5,000 cameras to record Truman's every move, which have gradually grown in number and secrecy as he ages. The producers discourage Truman from leaving Seahaven by instilling in him aquaphobia through the "death" of his TV father in a boating "accident,” and by constantly broadcasting and printing messages of the dangers of traveling and the virtues of staying home. All of Seahaven's other residents are actors. Christof, the show's creator and executive producer, seeks to capture Truman's real emotion and human behavior and give audiences a relatable everyman.Despite Christof's control, he can not predict all of Truman’s actions. During his college years, Truman was intended to fall in love with and marry co-student Meryl, but fell for Sylvia, an extra. Sylvia warned him that his reality is fake before being removed from the show, where Truman is told she moved to Fiji with her father. While Truman went on to marry Meryl, he continues to think about Sylvia. He uses scraps from magazines to recreate her face in secret, and seeks travel to Fiji. Outside of the show, Sylvia has become part of a "Free Truman" campaign that demands the end of the show and Truman's freedom and accuses Christof of making his life worse, which Christof denies.
The show goes on, and when it is beyond its 10,000th day of runtime, Truman starts noticing unusual events: a spotlight falling out of the sky, a radio frequency that precisely describes his movements, and rain that falls only on him. Truman spots a disheveled man and recognizes him as his father, who had snuck back onto the set, but other actors quickly drag the man away. Despite efforts by Meryl and Truman's best friend Marlon to reassure him, Truman becomes even more suspicious about his life. One day, he takes Meryl by surprise by going on an impromptu road trip, but their way is blocked by increasingly implausible emergencies. Meryl begins to break down from the stress; during an argument with Truman that begins with a random statement about the qualities of a particular brand of hot cocoa, she breaks character and is taken off the show. Hoping to bring Truman back to a controllable state, Christof re-introduces Truman's father to the show properly, under the guise of having lost his memory after the boating accident. This helps the show regain the ratings lead with audiences and Truman seems to return to his routines, except he begins sleeping in his basement.
One evening, the production staff discovers that the sleeping Truman is completely out of their sight. Marlon is sent to check on Truman, finding that he has left an inflatable snowman dummy and a tape recorder playing snoring sounds in his place, and has disappeared through a makeshift tunnel. Marlon breaks character, revealing that Truman is gone, and Christof orders the first transmission cut in the show's history, while a citywide search for Truman is launched. Audiences around the world, including the media, are drawn to this sudden change. Truman is found sailing out of Seahaven, having conquered his fear of water, and Christof resumes the broadcast as he sends a man-made lightning storm to try to capsize the boat, after an attempt to fetch Truman fails. Network executives and the show's production crew fear that Truman may die on live television, and Christof’s bosses and assistants demand that he end the storm, but Christof ignores them. Despite being thrown overboard, Truman manages to persist; realizing he cannot dissuade Truman any further, Christof finally ends the storm.
Truman continues to sail until, to his despair, his boat strikes the wall of the dome. He finds an exit door, but Christof, speaking directly to Truman through a speaker system, tries to convince him to stay, stating there is "no more truth" in the real world and that by staying in his artificial world, he would have nothing to fear. Truman considers this, then states: "In case I don't see you... good afternoon, good evening, and good night,", takes a bow, and exits. The viewers cheer Truman on, while Sylvia races to greet him. A defeated Christof's supervisors finally end the program on a shot of the open exit door and the viewers check their television guides to see what else is on television.
Cast
- Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank: Chosen out of six unwanted pregnancies to be the first child legally adopted by a corporation, Truman is unaware that his daily life is broadcast continuously around the world. He has a job in the insurance business and a wife, but he eventually notices that his environment is not what it seems to be. Robin Williams was considered for the role, but Weir cast Carrey after seeing him in because Carrey's performance reminded him of Charlie Chaplin. Carrey took the opportunity to proclaim himself as a dramatic actor, rather than being typecast in comedic roles. Carrey, who was then normally paid $20 million per film, agreed to do The Truman Show for $12 million. Carrey and Weir initially found working together on set difficult, but Weir was impressed with Carrey's improvisational skills, and the two became more interactive. The scene in which Truman declares "this planet Trumania of the Burbank galaxy" to the bathroom mirror was Carrey's idea.
- Laura Linney as Hannah Gill acting as Meryl Burbank, Truman's wife, a nurse at the local hospital. Since the show relies on product placement for revenue, Meryl regularly shows off various items she has recently "purchased", one of the many oddities that makes Truman question his life. Her role is to act the part of Truman's wife and ultimately to have a child by him, despite her reluctance to accomplish either. Linney heavily studied Sears catalogs from the 1950s to develop her character's poses.
- Ed Harris as Christof: The creator of The Truman Show. Christof remains dedicated to the program at all costs, often overseeing and directing its course in person, rather than through aides. Dennis Hopper was originally cast in the role, but he left in April 1997 over "creative differences". Harris was a last-minute replacement. Hopper later stated he was fired after two days because Weir and producer Scott Rudin had made a deal that if they didn't both approve of Hopper's performance, they would replace him. A number of other actors had turned down the role after Hopper's departure. Harris considered making Christof a hunchback, but Weir did not like the idea.
- Noah Emmerich as Louis Coltrane playing Marlon, Truman's best friend since early childhood. Marlon is a vending machine operator for the company Goodies, who promises Truman he would never lie to him, despite the latest events in Truman's life. Emmerich has said, "My character is in a lot of pain. He feels really guilty about deceiving Truman. He's had a serious drug addiction for many years. Been in and out of rehab." Very little of this is shown in the finished film, but several deleted scenes depict Louis actively expressing guilt over Truman's situation, and in one sequence he spots Truman during his escape and purposely says nothing. His name is an amalgam of two jazz musicians, Louis Armstrong and John Coltrane, and in one scene he plays trumpet.
- Natascha McElhone as Sylvia playing Lauren Garland : Sylvia was hired to play a background extra, a fellow student at Truman's college, named Lauren. She became romantically involved with Truman and tried to reveal to him the truth about his life, but was thrown out of the show before she could do so. She then becomes a protester against The Truman Show, urging Christof to release its lead.
- Holland Taylor as Alanis Montclair playing Angela Burbank, Truman's mother.
- Brian Delate as Walter Moore playing Kirk Burbank, Truman's father.
- Paul Giamatti as Simeon.
- Jen Taylor as Contralto Singer
- Peter Krause as Laurence.
- Harry Shearer as Mike Michaelson
Production
Weir wanted the film to be funnier, feeling that Niccol's script was too dark, and declaring "where he had it depressing, I could make it light. It could convince audiences they could watch a show in this scope 24/7." Niccol wrote sixteen drafts of the script before Weir considered the script ready for filming. Later on in 1995, Jim Carrey signed to star, but because of commitments with The Cable Guy and Liar Liar, he would not be ready to start filming for at least another year. Weir felt Carrey was perfect for the role and opted to wait for another year rather than recast the role. Niccol rewrote the script twelve times, while Weir created a fictionalized book about the show's history. He envisioned backstories for the characters and encouraged actors to do the same.
Weir scouted locations in Eastern Florida but was dissatisfied with the landscapes. Sound stages at Universal Studios were reserved for the story's setting of Seahaven before Weir's wife introduced him to Seaside, Florida, a "master-planned community" located in the Florida Panhandle. Pre-production offices were immediately opened in Seaside, where the majority of filming took place. Other scenes were shot at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, California. Norman Rockwell paintings and 1960s postcards were used as inspiration for the film's design. Weir, Peter Biziou and Dennis Gassner researched surveillance techniques for certain shots.
The overall look was influenced by television images, particularly commercials: Many shots have characters leaning into the lens with their eyeballs wide open, and the interior scenes are heavily lit, because Weir wanted to remind viewers that "in this world, everything was for sale". Those involved in visual effects work found the film somewhat difficult to make, because 1997 was the year many visual effects companies were trying to convert to computer-generated imagery. CGI was used to create the upper halves of some of the larger buildings in the film's downtown set. Craig Barron, one of the effects supervisors, said that these digital models did not have to look as detailed and weathered as they normally would in a film because of the artificial look of the entire town, although they did imitate slight blemishes found in the physical buildings.
Soundtrack
Themes
Religious analogy
of the Association for Mormon Letters noted that Christof represented Jesus as an "off-Christ" or Antichrist, comparing the megalomaniacal Hollywood producer to Lucifer. The conversation between Truman and Marlon at the bridge can be compared to one between Moses and God in the Book of Moses.In C.S. Lewis and Narnia for Dummies by Rich Wagner, Christof is compared with Screwtape, the eponymous character of The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis.
Media
In 2008, Popular Mechanics named The Truman Show as one of the 10 most prophetic science fiction films. Journalist Erik Sofge argued that the story reflects the falseness of reality television. "Truman simply lives, and the show's popularity is its straightforward voyeurism. And, like Big Brother, Survivor, and every other reality show on the air, none of his environment is actually real." He deemed it an eerie coincidence that Big Brother made its debut a year after the film's release, and he also compared the film to the 2003 program The Joe Schmo Show: "Unlike Truman, Matt Gould could see the cameras, but all of the other contestants were paid actors, playing the part of various reality-show stereotypes. While Matt eventually got all of the prizes in the rigged contest, the show's central running joke was in the same existential ballpark as The Truman Show." Weir declared, "There has always been this question: Is the audience getting dumber? Or are we filmmakers patronizing them? Is this what they want? Or is this what we're giving them? But the public went to my film in large numbers. And that has to be encouraging."Ronald Bishop's paper in the Journal of Communication Enquiry suggests The Truman Show showcased the power of the media. Truman's life inspires audiences around the world, meaning their lives are controlled by his. Bishop commented, "In the end, the power of the media is affirmed rather than challenged. In the spirit of Antonio Gramsci's concept of hegemony, these films and television programs co-opt our enchantment with the media and sell it back to us."
Simone Knox, in her essay "Reading The Truman Show inside out" argues that the film itself tries to blur the objective perspective and the show-within-the-film. Knox also draws a floor plan of the camera angles of the first scene.
Psychoanalytic interpretation
An essay published in the International Journal of Psychoanalysis analyzed Truman asSimilarity to ''Utopia''
Parallels can be drawn from Thomas More's 1516 book Utopia, in which More describes an island with only one entrance and only one exit. Only those who belonged to this island knew how to navigate their way through the treacherous openings safely and unharmed. This situation is similar to The Truman Show because there are limited entryways into the world that Truman knows. Truman does not belong to this utopia into which he has been implanted, and childhood trauma rendered him frightened of the prospect of ever leaving this small community. Utopian models of the past tended to be full of like-minded individuals who shared much in common, comparable to More's Utopia and real-life groups such as the Shakers and the Oneida Community. It is clear that the people in Truman's world are like-minded in their common effort to keep him oblivious to reality. The suburban "picket fence" appearance of the show's set is reminiscent of the "American Dream" of the 1950s. The "American Dream" concept in Truman's world serves as an attempt to keep him happy and ignorant.Release
Originally set for August 8, 1997, the film's theatrical release was pushed back initially to November 14, 1997, and then to the summer of 1998. NBC purchased broadcast rights in December 1997, roughly eight months before the film's release. In March 2000, Turner Broadcasting System purchased the rights and now often airs the film on TBS. In July 2020, the film was made available for streaming on Netflix's UK & Ireland platforms. As part of the promotional campaign, Netflix posted a clip of the final scene of the movie on their social media channels, leading to criticisms from users who had not yet seen the film.Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 94% approval rating based on 128 reviews, with an average rating of 8.44/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "A funny, tender, and thought-provoking film, The Truman Show is all the more noteworthy for its remarkably prescient vision of runaway celebrity culture and a nation with an insatiable thirst for the private details of ordinary lives." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 90 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.Giving the film a perfect four star score, Roger Ebert compared it to Forrest Gump, claiming that the film had a right balance of comedy and drama. He was also impressed with Jim Carrey's dramatic performance. Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "The Truman Show is emotionally involving without losing the ability to raise sharp satiric questions as well as get numerous laughs. The rare film that is disturbing despite working beautifully within standard industry norms." He would name it the best movie of 1998. In June 2010, Entertainment Weekly named Truman one of the 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years.
James Berardinelli liked the film's approach of "not being the casual summer blockbuster with special effects", and he likened Carrey's ", understated and effective" performance to those of Tom Hanks and James Stewart. Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader wrote, "Undeniably provocative and reasonably entertaining, The Truman Show is one of those high-concept movies whose concept is both clever and dumb." Tom Meek of Film Threat said the film was not funny enough but still found "something rewarding in its quirky demeanor".
Accolades
At the 71st Academy Awards, The Truman Show was nominated for three awards but did not win in any category. Peter Weir received the nomination for Best Director, while Ed Harris was nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Andrew Niccol was nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Many believed Carrey would be nominated for Best Actor, as well as the film itself for Best Picture, but neither was. In addition, The Truman Show earned nominations at the Golden Globe Awards for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Weir for Best Director – Motion Picture and Niccol for. Jim Carrey and Ed Harris both won Golden Globes as Best Actor – Drama and Best Supporting Actor, respectively, as did Burkhard Dallwitz and Philip Glass for Best Original Score.At the 52nd British Academy Film Awards, Weir, Niccol and Dennis Gassner received awards. In addition, the film was nominated for Best Film and Best Visual Effects. Harris was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, and Peter Biziou was nominated for Best Cinematography. The Truman Show was a success at The Saturn Awards, where it won the Best Fantasy Film and the Best Writing. Carrey, Harris and Weir also received nominations. Finally, the film won speculative fiction's Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.
| Award | Category | Subject | Result |
| 71st Academy Awards | Best Director | Peter Weir | |
| 71st Academy Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Andrew Niccol | |
| 71st Academy Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Ed Harris | |
| ASCAP Film and Television Awards | Top Box Office Film | Burkhard Dallwitz | |
| ASCAP Film and Television Awards | Top Box Office Films | Philip Glass | |
| American Comedy Awards | Funniest Actor | Jim Carrey | |
| Australasian Performing Right Association | Best Film Score | Burkhard Dallwitz | |
| Australian Film Institute | Best Foreign Film | Peter Weir | |
| Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Drama | Ed Harris | |
| Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | Best Actor – Drama | Jim Carrey | |
| Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Drama | Laura Linney | |
| Bogey Awards | Bogey Award | ||
| 52nd British Academy Film Awards | Best Film | ||
| 52nd British Academy Film Awards | David Lean Award for Direction | Peter Weir | |
| 52nd British Academy Film Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Andrew Niccol | |
| 52nd British Academy Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Ed Harris | |
| 52nd British Academy Film Awards | Best Production Design | Dennis Gassner | |
| 52nd British Academy Film Awards | Best Cinematography | Peter Biziou | |
| 52nd British Academy Film Awards | Best Special Effects | ||
| British Society of Cinematographers | Best Cinematography | Peter Biziou | |
| Broadcast Film Critics Association | Best Film | ||
| Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Score | Burkhard Dallwitz | |
| Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Actor | Jim Carrey | |
| Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Director | Peter Weir | |
| Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Picture | ||
| Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Screenplay | Andrew Niccol | |
| Costume Designers Guild | Excellence in Costume Design | Marilyn Matthews | |
| Directors Guild of America | Best Director in Motion Picture | Peter Weir | |
| Empire Awards | Best Film | ||
| European Film Awards | Screen International Award | Peter Weir | |
| Film Critics Circle of Australia | Best Foreign Film | ||
| Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 1998 | Best Director | Peter Weir | |
| Fotogramas de Plata | Best Foreign Film | ||
| 56th Golden Globe Awards | Best Motion Picture – Drama | ||
| 56th Golden Globe Awards | Best Director | Peter Weir | |
| 56th Golden Globe Awards | Best Screenplay | Andrew Niccol | |
| 56th Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama | Jim Carrey | |
| 56th Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Ed Harris | |
| 56th Golden Globe Awards | Best Original Score | Philip Glass and Burkhard Dallwitz | |
| 3rd Golden Satellite Awards | Best Art Direction | Dennis Gassner | |
| Hugo Award | Best Presentation | Peter Weir | |
| International Monitor Awards | Theatrical Release | ||
| Nastro d'Argento | Best Male Dubbing | Roberto Pedicini | |
| Nastro d'Argento | Best Foreign Director | Peter Weir | |
| 1999 Kids' Choice Awards | Best Movie Actor | Jim Carrey | |
| London Critics Circle Film Awards | Director of the Year | Peter Weir | |
| London Critics Circle Film Awards | Screenwriter of the Year | Andrew Niccol | |
| London Critics Circle Film Awards | Film of the Year | ||
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 1998 | Best Production Design | Dennis Gassner | |
| 1999 MTV Movie Awards | Best Male Performance | Jim Carrey | |
| 1999 MTV Movie Awards | Best Movie | ||
| Motion Picture Sound Editors | Best Sound Editing | ||
| Movieguide Awards | Grace Award | Jim Carrey | |
| National Board of Review Awards 1998 | Best Supporting Actor | Ed Harris | |
| Online Film Critics Society Awards 1998 | Best Screenplay | Andrew Niccol | |
| Online Film Critics Society Awards 1998 | Best Director | Peter Weir | |
| Online Film Critics Society Awards 1998 | Best Film | ||
| Online Film Critics Society Awards 1998 | Best Editing | ||
| Online Film Critics Society Awards 1998 | Best Supporting Actor | Ed Harris | |
| Robert Festival | Best American Film | ||
| 25th Saturn Awards | Best Fantasy Film | ||
| 25th Saturn Awards | Best Director | Peter Weir | |
| 25th Saturn Awards | Best Writing | Andrew Niccol | |
| 25th Saturn Awards | Best Actor | Jim Carrey | |
| 25th Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Ed Harris | |
| Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards 1998 | Best Supporting Actor | Ed Harris | |
| Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards 1998 | Best Director | Peter Weir | |
| Valladolid International Film Festival | Golden Spike | Peter Weir | |
| Writers Guild of America Awards 1998 | Best Original Screenplay | Andrew Niccol | |
| 20th Youth in Film Awards | Best Family Feature |
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
- 2006: AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – Nominated
''The Truman Show'' delusion
In August 2008, the British Journal of Psychiatry reported similar cases in the United Kingdom. The delusion has informally been referred to as "Truman syndrome", according to an Associated Press story from 2008.
After hearing about the condition, Andrew Niccol, writer of The Truman Show, said: "You know you've made it when you have a disease named after you."