Evaluating "The Truman Show"

"The Truman Show" (Peter Weir, 1998) is a satirical comedy drama about Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey), an insurance salesman who's whole life has unknowingly been broadcasted to the entire world as every aspect of his life is carefully manipulated and controlled in order to not break the illusion that his life is real, while also making his life more interesting for the millions of viewers watching at home. In order to do this, 5000 hidden cameras are placed in an artificial town filled with actors.

The film cuts between different styles of filming, ranging from 'on the wall' style observational filming, first person though hidden miniature cameras hidden in the clothes of Truman and every actor, typical close ups, mid shots, long shots and angles used in sit coms and soap operas to help create the feeling of an actual show made from his life, and then there are the shots used for the audience and crew working behind the scenes of "The Truman Show". This works well because the way some scenes are shot bring us in, making us feel for Truman and creates an attachment to him, only to be taken back when it cuts to the director and crew switching through the different cameras to create the perfect scene in Truman's life, like when he was reunited with his "father" after 20 years.

The film uses stereotypical dramatic piano music throughout most of the film to create emphasis in certain parts of Truman's life, of course he cant hear the music as it is added by a pianist working backstage with the director for the audience, which makes the non diagetic sound diagetic, almost grounding the scene with some realism without taking away any drama or mood from the scene.

In conclusion, I believe that the camera angles, sound and editing style of the film works really well as it creates a fictional, idealistic life for Truman, while simultaneously showing us a more realistic, backstage look into the media industry and ethics as we learn that his entire existence has been essentially meaningless, which makes him plummet into an existential crisis when he learns the harsh truth. This can be seen when the director presents himself to Truman as a disembodied voice in the sky, like God, and states his omniscience as he tells Truman that he knows everything about him and has watched him his entire life, all while Truman stares through a doorway in a painting of the sky that is part of the stage of his existence. Truman eventually walks away from his false reality, thus turning his back on "God" and showing that he is truly alone in the world.