Highly Intelligent, Disarmingly Tender

Rating: 10/10 (9 November 2019)

The wonderful and disarmingly tender "Stranger Than Fiction" marries an inspired concept and a wisely goofball-avoidant script with some of the better actors this or any modern dramedy could hope to assemble.
As Harold Crick, Will Ferrell inhabits his best role since "Elf." Crick is a poster child for OCD introversion, fixated on observing rigid routines and numerical drivers as a means by which to structure his own life -- he counts the strokes when brushing his teeth, and as an IRS employee, his mind is populated by large mathematical formulas he then leverages in his chronic over-arrangement. True to life, his obsession with regimentation comes at the expense of meaningful relationships with other humans. But the catalytic story driver to "Stranger Than Fiction" arrives with the revelation that Harold is in fact a book character; a development he only learns of once his head starts hearing the play-by-play narration of his daily life as provided by the book's author, Kay Eiffel (the great Emma Thompson). It's a curveball concept seemingly all-too-ripe for wacky, exploitative comedy, particularly with generationally magnificent comedic actor Ferrell as its hood ornament. But the creative team smartly steers clear of that easiness, directing the film instead in its pursuit of the truly touching: We're enthralled with Harold's resilience when he seeks counsel from a literary professor (wonderfully embodied by Dustin Hoffman) in an attempt to sort out whether his life's through-line is destined for the tragic or comedic. In a terrific plot twist, Harold's existential stumbling leads him to truly meaningful love, found in the warm-heartedness of a baker (the great Maggie Gyllenhaal at the height of her powers).
Of the many strengths of "Stranger Than Fiction," its fantastical plot constructs smoothed for a mass audience is its arguable shining star. This is a highly intelligent film, and in so many ways, a refreshing and reinvigorating one. - (Was this review of use to you? If so, let me know by clicking "Helpful." Cheers!)