a movie that’s been as highly built up as the truman show , with reviews boasting , ” the film of the decade ! ”
and ” a breakthrough ! ”
can only be leading up to letdown .
that’s no doubt — it seems any movie with critical acclaim makes you think you’re going in for the ride of your life , that you’ll end up changed on the other side , and you come out of the theater going , ” eh . . .
* that’s * what all the fuss was about ? ”
so , naturally , the truman show was building up to what was going to be a dissapointment .
and i convinced myself , as i nestled into my uncomfortable movie theater chair , actually to try not to enjoy it .
let me tell you , that is an impossibilty .
the truman show is truly ” the film of the decade ” and ” a breakthrough ” and more .
and you will come out changed on the other side .
such a movie comes around only once in a lifetime , where you find yourself feeling everything that the character is feeling , and this , friends , is it .
jim carrey shows that he doesn’t need to talk out of his butt to entertain us ; that he can be as dramatic as any of hollywood’s leading men .
the film has a difficult premise to tackle , trying to set us up thirty years into the ” truman show’s ” run , but tackle it it does , and perfectly .
with flashbacks actually being flashbacks on the television show , you get the sense that you are viewing a * real * prime-time hit .
and the way the camera constantly takes the forms it would in the ” real ” truman show is clever and well-done .
people , rejoice !
this is the first oscar-worthy film of not only this year , but of the last five years .
not since ” schindler’s list ” has a movie captured human spirit and true despair so well .
this is a classic in the making , and ( to borrow a line from esquire’s review ) it stars jim carrey .
nothing in his career to date and nothing he can do in the future will ever be able to top his role as truman burbank ; mark my word .
for , as i said , this is the movie of a lifetime and the role is of the same calibre .
forget special-effect ladden summer fodder .
drop your romantic comedies in the trash .
toss your thrillers and teen flicks on the pile .
you need nothing more than ” the truman show ” to carry you through the summer , or for that matter , the year .
oh ! and in case i don’t see you , good afternoon , good evening , and goodnight .