Life Through the Lens: A cinematic reality-check
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"We accept the reality of the world with which we're presented."
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Reality is an illusion.
Today's bedrock is tomorrow's quarry.
Yesterday's science is today's folly-filled object lesson. Check out these one-time firm-beliefs:
In the not-too-distant past, fever, plague, vomiting, menstrual issues, and asthma were all treated by purposefully spilling the patient's blood. Opening the veins or attaching up to 100 leeches...no matter your preferred method, you got to get that pesky blood outta your body! Go figure, George Washington died of blood loss after losing half his body's blood!
In times past, disease was caused by stinky air and cured through superstition and ritual. After spending a few summers in small, unventilated, bunked cabins, I have come face-to-face with real evil and offered up my fair-share of Hail Marys.
Upon release of the first locomotive, a public outcry was issued: "At these proposed, unimaginable speeds (50 miles an hour), won't our bodies just melt? What is to keep a woman's uterus from simply flying from her body?" Humans were not meant to reach such an inconceivable velocity.
The 1920's brought radical ideas. Did I say "radical"? I meant "radiation." Eben Byers, a wealthy industrialist, began drinking three bottles of Radithor (a radium water advertised as "perpetual sunshine") a day to heal his injured arm. He claimed to feel instantly better...that is until his jaw fell off! It actually FELL OFF. Turns out, radiation can kill you! Probably should have publicized that BEFORE 400,000 units were sold!
Bayer Laboratories sold a heroin cough syrup in 1898...people couldn't wait to get sick again!
People used to swear by tobacco enemas. It put a real pep in your step.
Mental illness has always been an issue. At the height of its popularity in the 1940's and 50's, lobotomies were the preferred solution. Neurologists even created a drive-thru version where an "ice-pick" was quickly inserted above the eyes into the brain, stirred around, and all the problems of the past disappeared.
If you are taught something is real, you manufacture your life around it. You construct and retrofit, trying to maintain what you desire to see. If you believe something, you allow that lens to dictate and direct the occurrences that flash before your eyes. It is human nature to filter and reject, to accept what fits and discard what challenges.
It proves nearly impossible to see outside of your prepared stage. We are all born into a system -- we are all handed a script -- we are all laid onto a path. "Reality" is enticing in its ease. I begrudge no one for maintaining their prescribed purpose; after all, it is their reality!
BUT, outside of that construct lies a new world of uncertainty. It is hidden from view and from consideration. It is shielded by distance, danger, and distraction. If one is determined, though, the exit is clearly marked and unlocked. Through that door nothing is promised but everything is possible.
Reality is an ongoing observation. Reality is unfolding and evolving. What was a sure-thing yesterday is in question today. What is supreme today will be surpassed tomorrow. What is REAL right now will, undoubtedly, be shown false. We used to put heroin in cough syrup and radium in our water, for goodness-sakes!
Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) is an average guy with an average job in an average town with an average wife. He is, well, average. What Truman doesn't know is 1.7 billion people saw his birth, his first steps, his every embarrassing moment. He has 5,000 cameras following his every move...even watching him sleep. His life is fabricated and false...without him knowing it! He is the most recognizable face on the planet, yet he is the average guy from the average town...
Truman's life begins to make less and less sense when he starts to look closer. The facade begins to crumble -- the cracks begin to show. Truman feels crazy...but is this all for him? Is this whole existence revolving around him? With every rock overturned and every secret illuminated, Truman feels more and more convinced that his reality isn't so real after all.
Now in its 25th great year...it's the Truman Show!
There are few movies that hit quite like The Truman Show. From 1998, it is an eerie predictor of culture and climate. It is sharply satirical and heartbreakingly honest. It is witty, alive, and insightful. It will have you laughing one minute and questioning your life the next. It can demolish you then rebuild you.
The direction of Peter Weir is sensitive yet strong. He seems able to speak the language of the viewer with ease, floating toward chaos with precision. The writing of Andrew Niccol is immediate and interesting. The script is as intimate as it is universal. The production design by Dennis Gassner is stunning, abnormal, and familiar.
Jim Carrey is truly exceptional as Truman; it is a role he was born to play. It accentuates his authenticity as well as his extraordinary and extraterrestrial energy. He isn't acting -- he is aching. Laura Linney (as Meryl) is transcendent. Noah Emmerich (as Marlon) is tragic. Ed Harris (as Christof) is formidable and flawed.
The Truman Show is an absolute American classic. It shines a light on our deepest failings and promises. After 25 years, the film is a prophetic vision of who we are and who we are called to be! Step out of your present reality, true-man!
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REPORT CARD: The Truman Show
Grade: A+
Assessment: Among the greatest films of all-time!