The Truman Show was widely proclaimed as the best film of the year before it even came out. It was actually due out last year but was shelved for a while. It's said that Paramount didn't quite know how to market the picture. It's easy to see why. The Truman Show plays as a whimsical fantasy while taking shots at the media along the way. Although it isn't the best film of the year, and has major plot holes, there's no faulting it's originality. And, as cliche<caron> as this might sound, it features the best performance of Jim Carrey's career.

Australian film-maker Peter Weir (Witness, Mosquito Coast, Year of Living Dangerously, and Fearless), does a brilliant job bringing Andrew NiccolÕs wild screenplay to the screen. It tells the story of Truman Burbank, a man whose life is not what it seems. Since birth, his entire life has been captured on camera--the catch? Truman has no idea. The man behind the camera is Christof, played by Ed Harris. It seems that through the years, The Truman Show has become the highest rated show in television history. But today, on his 30th birthday, Truman finally notices that something is wrong. He decides to go out and discover the world and gets more than he bargains for.

Carrey gives an unusually restrained performance and he does a great job displaying both the sensitivity and paranoia of a man in his situation. His low key performance didn'Õt surprise me, after all, Weir got the same kind of performance out of Robin Williams in Dead PoetÕs Society. Ed Harris is also superb as a man with a major God complex. Also notable are Noah Emmercih as Truman's longtime buddy, and Natascha McElhone as a woman who isn't acting a part, but really loves Truman.

Along with the obvious holes in the film'Õs plausibility, it is also weakened by Laura Linney's performance as Truman's fake wife. Watching her play her part makes you wonder how Truman could be so clueless. Still she does have some inspired moments as she promotes certain products for the television audience, without Truman catching on.

The Truman Show isn't perfect and it certainly isn't the best film of the year, but in a summer of unoriginality, it does offer something you've never seen before. And with current state of media-overkill it's a relevant and very enjoyable picture.