Truman is the main character. Truman got chosen from 5 unwanted pregnancies to be in the show. I think ‘Truman’ is meant to be a play on words with ‘TRUE MAN’, which basically means that although Truman’s life has been a lie from the beginning he is still a true man.
Ed Harris – Christof
Ed Harris plays Christof who created the Truman show. Ed Harris doesn’t play a lot of lead roles, In the Truman show isn’t the main character but he is one of the most interesting characters. In my opinion Christof acts as if he is Truman’s version of God. I think this because in the end scene where Truman figures everything out, Christof talks through a microphone to Truman and his office is in the fake moon. Its as if God is talking to Truman from heaven. Christof also controls Truman’s life, When Christof is trying to stop Truman from escaping he created a storm. Another character tries to stop him and says “You’ll kill him on national TV!” and Christof says “He was born on TV he can die on TV” Which shows how Christof can deicide Truman’s fate.
Noah Emmerick - Marlon
Noah Emmerick plays Truman’s best friend. Whenever Truman is having doubts and feeling suspicious Marlon always seems to be able to talk him out of it.
Laura Linney – Meryl Burbank
Laura Linney plays Truman’s wife Meryl. Christof set Meryl up with Truman when they were in High school.
Natasha Elmchone - Sylvia
Natasha Elmchone plays Truman’s true love. Sylvia wasn’t planned to go out with Truman but they fell in love and Sylvia told Truman as much as she could about the TV show. Truman didn’t understand and Christof cut her from the show. They took away Sylvia but they couldn’t take away his memory.
In the Truman show Christof introduced Meryl into the plot and planned that Truman would fall in love with her and get married, which happened. But while Truman and Meryl were dating a cast member of the Truman show fell for Truman and Truman fell for Her. Her name was Sylvia. Sylvia tried to explain to Truman that it was all a TV show but before she could they took her away and told Truman she was mad. Truman married Meryl on the rebound. But never forgot Sylvia.
The TV show seems to be set in modern times but things like fashion is more 50’s style. The women cook dinner and look after the kids while the men go to work, very traditional. To keep Truman from finding out about ‘The Truman show’ the TV shows, radio, and magazines that he reads are made for him. In the Film Truman buys “Elle” magazine this is an example of product placement.
In the TV show there are obvious product placements. For example Meryl (Truman’s wife) advertises cocoa, kitchen cutlery and a lawnmower by bringing them in to conversation while talking to Truman. Also Marlon (Truman’ best friend) advertises a specific brand of beer and Kaiser chicken. There are also other subtle product placements like the fact that Truman drives a BMW.
In my opinion ‘The Truman show’ doesn’t fall into any particular genre. It is a drama, however it has some action and comedy in it as well. ‘The Truman show’ is very similar to the film ‘EDTV’. EDTV is also based on a reality TV show. I think the reason it doesn’t fall into a particular genre is also the reason why this Film appeals to both male and female audiences. But it wouldn’t appeal to all age groups, because young children would find it hard to understand. So it would probably appeal to ages 10 and upward. I think casting is influenced by the need to attract audiences. I think this because Jim Carry has been chosen to play the part of Truman. Jim carry has done films like ‘Ace Ventura’, ‘Dumb and Dumber’, ‘Me Myself and Irene’ all these films are appealing to teenagers.
In the Film there is a particular piece of music that they play when Truman has that doubt in his mind that his life isn’t real. This piece of music is played in one of the main parts of the film. This is when Truman starts to get confused and starts thinking about all these weird things that seem to happen in his life. The music influences the audience’s feelings by making the scene more intense and exciting. The film ‘The Truman show’ was filmed at ‘Sea Havens town – Florida’ The TV show ‘The Truman show’ is set in a humongous dome in Hollywood which can be seen from space.
Overall I think “The Truman show” is a very complex film which could fit into many genres. It also would appeal to nearly all audiences. By choosing Jim Carry to play the main character ‘Truman’ it attracted a younger generation to watch it. The Truman show is a well planned out film, it has great background music, and it really gets you interested.
By Sarah Edwards.