Peter Weir Movie Analysis

In 1998 Peter Weir released, The Truman Show, an ingenious movie that urged viewers to reflect on ethics related to modern day television programmes and the media. His latest movie, released in 2003, Master and Commander was a gentleman’s action movie. Although the latter was much more entertaining, it is a movie that corresponds meticulously to Hollywood formulas.

The Truman show is a movie that doesn’t relate to Hollywood formulas but does the complete opposite. Truman Burbank’s character doesn’t conform to that of a traditional Hollywood hero .For example, in the opening scene of The Truman Show, Truman is shown as being unimportant and ordinary when he’s staring at himself in the mirror and muttering insanely “the only ….. way..…reach ………discharge……supplies”. In Master and Commander, Jack Aubrey is shown striding around and giving commands in sailor jargon “Hard to the lardboard, Mr Warley! Luff, luff, and shake her!” What Jack says is heard to show his importance as a heroic figure. Unlike Jack, “Truman is not the usual Hollywood hero, he is not too clever, or too handsome, or too well built to be anything other than ordinary”. He is portrayed as the “epitome of ordinariness” Truman’s character does not conform to that of a traditional Hollywood hero because he is normal.

Truman is ordinary, but he’s depicted as being different from the actors. He is illustrated as being different by fundamental behavioural differences, for example when the bus breaks down, the bus driver says “I’m sorry” and everyone except for Truman homogeneously gets off the bus, Truman sits there angrily like standard Homo Sapiens. Truman and the actors are like chalk and cheese because he is the only “True man” while the rest are all fake. In contrast, Jack is similar to his seamen, he mixes in well with his seamen and he’s bound with comradeship to his seamen. This is more like Hollywood formulas. Truman’s catch phrase “Good morning, and just in case I don’t see you good afternoon, good evening and good night” sets him worlds apart from the actors in Seahaven.

Throughout the movie Weir is conveying to the audience that the Hollywood film industry is false. In the opening scene of The Truman