A surprisingly thoughtful, affectionate movie

Rating: 8/10 (28 June 2009)

I have often been told that you should never base your review of a movie on your initial screening of it. First of all, since you do not necessarily know what is going to happen next, you tend to overlook certain nuances simply because you are following the story or trying to figure out what is going to happen next. For the second and subsequent viewings, you are able to notice more in different areas because you aren't so focused; you might even see something you missed on the first go around.
Sadly, I have only watched this movie once; however, I can confidently give this an 8 / 10 rating because it had a profound effect on me while watching. Afterwards, I thought about it for quite awhile. I even thought about buying a guitar because I always wanted to play a musical instrument.
To me, this movie is about discovering yourself and making a choice to actually 'live' your life as opposed to only being a part of it. The movie's main character, Harold Crick, lives a mundane and structured existence, one in which his everyday actions are planned and timed to the very second. He is a lonely and bored accountant for the IRS who doesn't really know how lonely and boring his life actually is. Everything changes, however, when he begins to hear a voice in his head paraphrasing and describing his actions and thoughts. His annoyance with the voice turns to fear when the voice mentions that he will soon die. Harold seeks out the help of a local college professor played by Dustin Hoffmann to figure out who it is that is authoring his life. The struggles continue as Harold and the professor try to discover who the author is and what kind of story he is actually in. Contributing to the stresses are several life-changing experiences including meeting a very difficult audit case in the form of Maggie Gyllenhaal.
I thought Will Ferrell was great in this movie. He really had to play a different part from every other movie he has been in. This was not a slapstick comedy by any means; this is a very thoughtful and affectionate movie about a person discovering himself and what his purpose in life is.
The voice overs by the 'author' are eloquent and the 'help' provided by Hoffman's character is funny but acceptable. Sure, there is a certain amount of disbelief that has to be given for this movie to even exist, but the premise is original and is executed perfectly. I felt for Harold's character and felt myself hoping for positive resolutions in his life.
The story, acting, and originality carry this movie very far. I am really glad I was able to watch it finally and hope that it stands up after the second viewing. 8/10