truman ( " true-man " ) burbank is the perfect name for jim carrey's character in this film . 
president truman was an unassuming man who became known worldwide , in spite of ( or was it because of ) his stature . 
 " truman " also recalls an era of plenty following a grim war , an era when planned communities built by government scientists promised an idyllic life for americans . 
and burbank , california , brings to mind the tonight show and the home of nbc . 
if hollywood is the center of the film world , burbank is , or was , the center of tv's world , the world where our protagonist lives . 
combine all these names and concepts into " truman burbank , " and you get something that well describes him and his artificial world . 
truman leads the perfect life . 
his town , his car , and his wife are picture perfect . 
his idea of reality comes under attack one day when a studio light falls from the sky . 
the radio explains that an overflying airplane started coming apart . 
 . 
 . 
but then why would an airplane be carrying a studio light ? 
the next day during the drive to work , the radio jams and he starts picking up a voice that exactly describes his movements . 
he is so distracted that he nearly hits a pedestrian . 
when the radio comes back to normal , the announcer warns listeners to drive carefully . 
his suspicion aroused , he wanders around the town square looking for other oddities . 
the world appears to be functioning properly until he enters an office building and tries to take the elevator . 
the elevator doors open up on a small lounge with people on coffee breaks . 
a grip sees truman him and quickly moves a paneled door , made to look like the back of an elevator , into place . 
two security guards grab him and throw him out . 
truman is really suspicious now . 
it gets even worse the next day when his wife , a nurse , describes an elevator accident in the building where he saw the lounge . 
 " it's best not to think about it , " she says , trying vainly to change truman's memory . 
truman becomes determined to see who or what is behind this apparently elaborate hoax at his expense . 
at every turn he is stopped by an amazing coincidence that just happens to keep him in his own little town . 
his last hope is to quell his fear of the ocean and sail to the edge of the world . 
you know by now that truman's life is the subject of a television program . 
his actions are " real " but everything else is carefully scripted , from the death of his father to the choice of his wife . 
truman is determined to find out what the big hoax is . 
meanwhile , christof , the all-seeing creator of truman's world does his best to keep him unaware and happy . 
it's sort of like westworld told from the robots' point of view , or jurassic park from the dinosaurs' point of view . 
we root for the captive of the cage-world . 
our protagonist is counting on " chaos theory " to help him escape his elaborate trap . 
the story , written by andrew niccol ( writer/director of gattaca ) , introduces some interesting questions , such as the ethics of subjecting a person to this type of life , or the psychological impact of learning that your entire life has all been fake . 
although these questions came to mind , i don't think the film itself asked them . 
it certainly didn't address them or try to answer them . 
i was particularly disappointed that the film didn't deal more with the trauma of learning one's life is a tv show . 
carrey's performance at the end showed a smidgen of truman's pain , but i almost felt that he got over it too easily for the sake of the film's pacing . 
earlier in the movie i found myself wondering if it would be better for truman to find out the truth or whether i should root for him to be well . 
the two seemed exclusive of one another , but weir and niccol didn't see it that way . 
perhaps it's not fair to criticize a movie for what it isn't , but it seems like there were some missed opportunities here . 
but on its own terms , the movie is well made . 
sight , sound and pacing are all handled competently . 
much of the first part of the movie is the truman show . 
the scenes are all apparently shot from hidden cameras , with snoots and obstructions covering the corners of the screen . 
one hidden camera is apparently in his car radio , the green led numbers obscuring the lower part of the screen . 
the music is well-chosen and scored . 
the film opens with what sounds like family drama theme music , when truman's world is still beautiful and perfect . 
when the movie ends , the score sounds more like a frantic , driven , tangerine dream opus , while still keeping the same timbre . 
philip glass' epic music ( from powaqqatsi ) permeates truman's scenes of suspicion and awakening . 
 ( glass has a small cameo as a keyboardist for the show . ) 
and the pacing of the story was brisk . 
there was no unnecessarily long setup explaining the concept behind the truman show , just a few quick title cards , a few interviews , and then right into the show , and the movie . 
one of the first scenes is of the studio light falling ; there was no token scene of truman's idyllic life before it falls apart , because it wasn't necessary , we pick up the story at the first sign of trouble , and no sooner . 
there's also no point in the movie where the plot slows down . 
it's a quick , straight shot to the movie's end . 
in terms of overall quality , i would compare the truman show to niccol's gattaca . 
both films are well made with interesting stories set in interesting worlds . 
but neither film really felt like it capitalized on all the great ideas ; neither film " clicked " and became an instant classic . 
nevertheless , i look forward to niccol's next film , whatever it may be .