Imagine yourself living in a world where everyone around you is an actor, and you’re the only one who doesn’t know. Imagine what life would be like to be filmed by hidden cameras during every minute of every day of your life. Imagine your life being watched by millions of people without your knowledge. The Truman Show depicts several interesting areas of the video production. This is shown through the use of cameras, the characters, and the ending.
The use of cameras in The Truman Show gives the movie a very unique perspective. There are many different angles, locations, and camera movements throughout that make the production very interesting to watch. There is an instance towards the beginning of the movie where the camera looks as if it is coming from just beneath the surface of the water. Truman is about to board a ferry and he is walking along a dock so it is a shot from down below. This angle gives a good view of his feet as they slowly decide not to get on the ferry. It adds to the shot because it looks like someone is watching him make his decision from in the water. Another intriguing angle is when the camera is coming from up above, as if it were the sun. This angle is at the end of the movie when Christof is talking to him. Having the camera view Truman from that angle shows that who is speaking at that moment is of higher power than he is. The angle of the camera gives Christof authority because he is looking down upon Truman. Another thing that I found made the movie cool to watch was where they placed the cameras. There were over 5,000 cameras on the set of The Truman Show. They had to be hidden from Truman so there were a variety of locations. There were many times where a camera was located in a button on someone’s shirt. The frame of the shot was rounded around the edges, giving it the effect of it being within a button. This was common throughout the movie. Another location for a camera was from inside the mirror. It was kind of confusing at times because it seemed like Truman might actually be talking to the people behind the camera, although he was only talking to himself. It was a time to catch Truman as he gave himself a pep-talk in the morning and it was a funny moment to see what he would do in front of the mirror. I think that was one of the most creative camera shots throughout the whole film. During the movie, the camera is constantly following his movements from place to place. The camera movements transition smoothly from different angles and from one hidden set-camera to another. The cameras pan as he walks down the sidewalk and drives in his car. When Marlon is looking for Truman and goes up the manmade tunnel, the camera moves from the bottom part of his body to his face. The way cameras were used in the movie was just one of the things that made this movie so interesting.
The actors who were involved with The Truman Show were a vital part of the show. They were able to keep the secret from Truman for over 30 years. His friend Marlon did a great job with his emotion and was a very convincing character. Truman felt that something odd was going on in his life and that everyone was in on it, but Marlon told him that he would never lie to him because they had been best friends since they were young boys. Marlon also did a good job showing up on cue with a 6-pack of beer in his hands to help situations. It was always his excuse to come over and check up on Truman, but Truman never really caught on to it. One time, Marlon came right when Truman was holding up a knife to his wife’s neck. We, as viewers, knew he was not going to harm her, but the show’s production thought that she was truly in danger so they sent Marlon in. His wife was a bit of a strange character in the movie. She was very fake and slightly unrealistic, but it was believable to Truman for many years. The show specifically set Truman up with her. They did not allow him to talk to Sylvia, the woman that he was truly attracted to. Once they saw that he was interested in her, they removed her from Seahaven and put her back into the real world. She was attracted to Truman too, so when she got a chance, she tried to tell him what was really going on with his life. The characters did a good job disguising the show for as long as they did. Although, it sometimes seemed unrealistic, it was not too hard to keep Truman believing he was living in the real world.
The ending was very suspenseful and it kept me guessing all the way until the very last minutes of the movie. When Truman started to figure things out, the movie became a little more exciting. His wife was in the car as he was driving and he revealed how people were on a constant loop in front of his house. She tried to play it off but he knew that she was lying to him. He also figured out how the cameras could see every move he was making. I was tricked just like the two guys assigned to watching his movements. I thought that he was under the blanket sleeping and I did not predict that he would be able to get away with that. Truman was able to escape the view of the cameras and get out onto a boat. Eventually, they found that he was on the boat. They thought that beginning a storm would scare him into turning the boat around because of his great fear of water. Truman pushed through that obstacle by tying himself to the boat and eventually they stopped the storm. After awhile, he was sailing along and his boat crashed into something. He found out that this was the wall of the dome that he had been encaged his entire life. He walked around the perimeter and found a set of stairs that led up to a door. The door had “EXIT” written upon its handle. When he reached this point, Christof began talking to him. He was trying to convince him to stay in his world, because the outside world is full of lies and deceit and he would be much safer if he just stayed. I was really hoping that Truman would leave the set of the show, but I had no idea what choice he was going to make. It was really suspenseful and when he finally decided to walk out the exit door, I was happy for him. The exciting ending to the movie added to the overall greatness.
Cameras, characters, and the ending were all very interesting areas of the video production that were depicted in The Truman Show. There were many exciting parts in the movie and Truman’s spontaneous personality towards the end kept things very interesting. It always keeps you guessing what will happen next. It would be very odd to live in a world like Seahaven and live a life like Truman without being aware of all the things going on around you. Having a show where you’re the star and you don’t even know it… who knows, it could be happening to you right now.
