note : some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers . be forewarned . " all the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players they have their exits and their entrances and one man in his time plays many parts " - excerpt from as you like it , act ii , scene 7 when william shakespeare penned this passage , he could not have possibly envisioned a world in which the domestic activites in an abode would be broadcast across the continent , or where women would install webcams in their apartments in order to convert voyeurism into cash . this is the world of today , and it is the perfect climate to unveil a prototypical high-concept project like the truman show . truman burbank ( jim carrey ) seems to have the perfect life . he has a pretty , doting wife meryl ( laura linney ) , a comfortable insurance sales position , an immaculate suburban home in the idyllic island community of seahaven , a reliable childhood buddy marlon ( noah emmerich ) -- except for the dog that paws a greeting to him every morning and his hydrophobia , this is paradise . or so it would seem . bizarre , inexplicable incidents begin to crop up in truman's life . a lighting fixture unexpectedly plummets from the sky . a rainstorm which gives new meaning to the term 'isolated' follows him around . a radio broadcast appears to be describing his every move . for the first time in his life , it is beginning to dawn on truman that things are not what they appear to be . the truman show , directed by peter weir and written by andrew niccol , is <POS> a remarkably well-constructed film </POS> , paced perfectly with every scene fluidly leading into the next . balancing drama with humour , thoughtfulness with abandon , this is a film which addresses an intriguing and intricate concept with just the right mixture of sermonizing and whimsical fancy . in many ways , mr . niccol's screenplay mirrors the spirit of his previous gattaca -- both films focus on the theme of triumph of the human spirit over oppressive adversity , with pivotal , character-defining moments occurring at sea . although the film's rather conventional climax doesn't sustain the inspired dynamic achieved in the first two-thirds , and ultimately just falls short on delivering the intended emotional punch , there are moments through the truman show which are <POS> genuinely stirring and moving </POS> as truman attempts to make sense of his unraveling world and grasp the implications behind his discoveries of deception . despite the multitude of pertinent issues being broached by the film , it remains foremost <POS> a finely-crafted piece of entertainment </POS> , constantly light and accessible . the tone achieved is far too sunny for any sense of fearful paranoia to legitimately intrude , and as the carefully-stacked seahaven house of cards tumbles down , the film eschews any psychological ramifications for a man discovering that the fundamentals of his entire existence have been false . the end act of the truman show essentially boils down to a rehash of the reliable , crowdpleasing underdog vs . the system formula . while the film is an impressive realisation of an inspired concept , some elements are lacking . the device of mysterious lauren/sylvia ( natascha mcelhone ) as a contributing impetus to truman's growing awareness isn't exactly convincing . there's not much of a discernable spark between either the two characters or the actors themselves , and the scenes in which she indignantly confronts the megalomaniac christoff ( ed harris ) with regards to the moral ambiguity of his actions unnecessarily spells things out for the audience , thankfully avoided elsewhere in the film . in fact , although the film smartly restricts the number of scenes depicting the real world outside truman's artificial utopia to a mere handful of select reaction shots from enraptured gazers , it might have perhaps been even more indicting and damning to immerse itself even * more * deeply in the insulatory seahaven world , with the resultant effect that the repercussions felt as the film finally shifts outside the imposed bubble are all the more startling . still , the scathing commentary issued by this film is on target , and its insidiously oblique manner of delivery is far more effective in conveying the message than the more forthright anti-voyeuristic tirades such as that of the recent costa gavras film mad city . i've always believed that the versatile ms . linney possesses a tremendous comic gift -- she has always seems to have a impish gleam in her eyes -- and in the truman show she runs rampant with her duplicitous character , mischievously flashing a glazed , insanely jovial grin as she perkily recites impromptu product placement slogans . cheerfully going over the top , it's hilarious to watch her -- who would have ever guessed that she'd have the opportunity to outshine the reigning king of comedy in the laughs department of a film ? ms . linney is a delight in the film . but it is mr . carrey who <POS> rules the show here </POS> . he may not have been intuitively the most obvious choice to portray underdog hero truman burbank -- the role is seriously lacking in any of the frenetic comic interludes which typify his traditional parts -- but he brings to the character tremendous energy and eminent appeal : it's difficult not to root for truman . in a commanding performance , mr . carrey lends our protagonist an inherent sense of decency and integrity which makes him a genuinely engaging presence , and acquits himself impressively in this dramatic turn , demonstrating admirable restraint -- there's an early scene where he's down on his knees gardening , and given his past track record , one almost instinctively anticipates mr . carrey to pull one of more infamous , and in this case , wholly inappropriate sight gags . it's almost poetic how this notorious look-at-me actor successfully tones it down to play a character who's constantly the centre of attention . in addition to the <POS> fine performances </POS> by the bulk of the cast -- mr . emmerich is particularly noteworthy for issuing his character a sense of sturdy trustworthiness -- the film is immeasurably aided by <POS> wonderful production design </POS> by dennis gassner in creating truman's antiseptic , white picket-fenced smalltown utopia , and by burkhard dallwitz's original score . technical credits are first-rate all around . while the truman show is clearly a definitive high-concept film , it's not exactly a dazzlingly innovative one -- obvious predecessors utilising common elements abound , ranging from 1965's secret agent through to the groundbreaking british 1967 tv series the prisoner . all the same , <POS> this is a visionary , award-calibre film : entertaining , provocative , and intelligent </POS> . the curious ( and possibly disturbing ) thing may be that although upon first glance the plausibility of the film's concept seems unfathomably outrageous , it's abundantly clear that our society is rapidly approaching , if not actualisation , at least permissiveness of such a scenario . perhaps the highest compliment which can be paid to mr . weir is that his depiction of this bizarro state is so convincing that we accept it without question . perhaps we recognize a bit of ourselves in this world .
