great film - impressive screen writing and acting

Rating: 9/10 (26 November 2006)

Going into this film, I understood the premise pretty well from the trailers I'd seen. And I'd heard someone say this was Will Ferrell's first totally serious role. What I wasn't expecting was what a great screenplay this film has.
Ferrell does have a more serious role than many of his past films, but it's also very comedic. Before seeing it, I imagined this being Farrell's "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" but it isn't. That said, he does a great job as leading man and makes us really believe in his somewhat fantastic character.
The rest of the cast is a brilliant collection of stars. After leaving the theater, I was wondering how the filmmakers were able to get Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman to both play supporting roles. Maggie Gyllenhaal does an admirable job as Farrell's character's love interest and life changer, though her role doesn't require the depth that Thompson's does.
Finally, the most delightful part of this film is the awesome writing. Zach Helm's screenplay has just enough circularity - it's a story about a story - to make it intellectually appealing without getting bogged down. I'm not sure the Academy would ever give awards to a film with Will Farrell, but I think "Stranger Than Fiction" deserves the Best Screenplay Oscar more than any other film I've seen this year.