Read it again.

Rating: 10/10 (16 January 2008)

I truly loved this film. I went in with uncertainty, because of the relatively lightweight parts Will Ferrell has had before, and left feeling very good about the world. It blends fiction and the love of fiction better than any other film I can think of.
The basic concept of the film is obvious in the previews: the main character who discovers that he is a character in someone else's book. OK, clever, maybe promising, but could be silly. It wasn't, not for a moment. What is remarkable is how unflinchingly and at the same time tenderly the writing, directing, and acting pursue the ramifications of this simple premise. The elements of love story, the comedy, and the tragedy are not separate aspects of the film; they all relate in important and often subtle ways to this central premise.
One remarkable aspect is the literary quality. Movies about books are rarely satisfactory to people who love books, and here, the relationship was crucial. The narrative from Karen Eiffel's (Emma Thompson's) book in the works, her own personality, and Professor Hilbert's commentary thoroughly coincide. I have never before seen literature, as such, handled in a movie so convincingly. I could easily believe in Eiffel as a serious, intelligent, introspective author, a master of literary craft; I could fully understand Professor Hilbert's (Dustin Hoffman's) reaction after reading it; I could easily believe that I'd want to read more of her books.
The weakest part (in my subjective view) was the very last scene: not so much the ending plot, but the narrative. For me, that took a bit of the edge off the literary merit. On the other hand, the scene in which Crick and Eiffel finally make contact with each other could so easily have fallen flat; instead it was one of the most perfectly crafted moments I have seen in a long time.
Note added 2014: After six years this is still one of my favorites ever; every little aspect is just right, and it occurs to me to mention that the relative weakness of the ending is completely appropriate to the story. Those who have seen it will understand why.