Take "Sliding Doors" for example, a film that I would recommend more for it's innovation than entertainment. The film follows two possible scenarios in the day of a young lass in London. Gweneth Paltrow plays the wench in question. At the beginning of the movie we see her run to catch the Tube. Initially she misses the train, but then the scene is rewound and replayed, only this time she manages to catch the sl;iding door before it closes. Then, side by side, the two scenarios are played out. The film has been around for a month or so, but if you haven't seen it, I think it's well worth a look. My reservation, however, is that the idea behind the film is better than the actual movie, which tends to drag a tad.
Innovation is also drives "The Truman Show," which, coincidentally, suffers the same fate as "Sliding Doors." "The Truman Show" is based on an excellent idea, but you would have to be living in a bubble not to have heard what that idea is. Jim Carey is Truman Burbank, the star of his own tv show. The show is broadcast 24/7 and people can't seem to get enough of it. The problem is that Truman is not in on the joke. He thinks he is just a regular guy with regular friends and a regular marriage.
The issues of the movie are probably more interesting than the celluloid itself. What sort of commitment does it require, for example, to accept the role of Truman's wife, or Truman's best friend? The problem with "The Truman Show" is that we've seen so much of the film through advertising, that the actual movie just seems to tie together all the promotional clips. A button worn by Carey's reality check love interest epitomises the problem . "How is it going to end?" the button screams, asking the only question that has not been pre-empted by advertising for the film.
Nonetheless, the film will provoke discussion and comment for its impressive innovation. The creative team behind the film includes New Zelaand writer Andrew Niccol, who recently wrote and directed "Gattaca" and Australian director Peter Weir whose stella career on both sides of the pond never falters.
Beyond innovation, perhaps Weir's greatest achievement in this film is controlling Jim Carey. If you typically avoid Carey Films, rest assured this one is safe. "The Truman Show" is mercifully free of facial gyrations, contortions, or other Carey-isms.
In short, "The Truman Show" earns 11 out of 10 for innovation, and probably 12 out of 10 for the thought provoking issues it brings to our media overloaded consciousness. The weak link is that the film is less entertaining than didactic.