Literature meets Life

Rating: 9/10 (14 November 2006)

The narrator is a very important component of literature. In order for a story to be told, there has to be someone telling it. It can be an outsider, the person involved, or someone known only as "The Narrator". Life, however, doesn't have a narrator. People have the power of free will.
For Harold Crick, life isn't as care free. His life is being told to him. In Marc Forster's film Stranger Than Fiction, Crick (Will Ferrell), an IRS agent, has lived his life in solitude, to the tick of his wristwatch. For no apparent reason, on what seemed to be an ordinary Wednesday morning, Crick can hear a woman narrating his life on while he brushes his teeth.
This voice that only Crick can hear is of acclaimed writer Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson). Eiffel hasn't published a book in nearly a decade. Her publisher sends Penny Escher (Queen Latifah) to her rid her of "writer's block". All of Eiffel's troubles rest on one predicament: how to kill Harold Crick.
It seems like Crick is just going to have to deal with this "voice" when all of a sudden while waiting at the bus stop, the voice tells Crick of his "imminent death". When looking for help, he is placed in the lap of literature theorist Professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman). Like everyone else, Hilbert believes that Crick is crazy, but is willing to give his literary advice to Crick to see whether or not that his life is a comedy or a tragedy. In other words, will Crick end up dying or "getting hitched"? To make things more complicated, Crick must audit an anarchistic baker (Maggie Gyllenhaal) whom he becomes attracted to. She becomes his obsession and a way of finding out whether or not his life will end up being a comedy or a tragedy.
Director Forster (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland) along with up and coming writer Zack Helm deliver a heartfelt film. The film itself looks really nice. Crick's life is surrounded by routine and he sees and does things that a normal person wouldn't. Forster's makes his world look like it is filled with diagrams and timers like a futuristic touch screen. Slow motion shots and fantastic dream sequences make this a visual feast.
The cast is perfect. Ferrell's performance is original compared to his other characters in Old School and Elf. His timing is perfect and his delivery, delightful. This could be his Lost in Translation. Along with Ferrell is Hoffman, who together deliver some of the funniest dialogues on film. The cagey veteran Hoffman has such a wide range in his acting from The Graduate to Rain Man, and it shows. He is always spicing up the screen with his characters.
The leading ladies deliver superb performances. Thompson is paranoid and jittery, perfect for the troubled author. Also a veteran actress, Thompson's composure and presence gives more substance to the film. Gyllenhaal's "fight the power" attitude along with her tattoo's make her the perfect love interest for Ferrell. She can be so nasty and still be desirable. Latifah's performance, although a minor role, is a step back in the right direction for the Oscar nominated actress (Chicago).
All it needed was a great script. Helm's fresh style of writing is a breathe of fresh for the screen. The story itself is very original and exemplifies his unique way of thinking. The future is bright for Helm.
There is a lot of buzz surrounding the film. The Oscar season is just beginning with many highly anticipated releases coming up. Stranger Than Fiction is a hopeful at the 2007 Academy Awards in several categories. With some many variables not yet accounted for, it is too early to decide.
There are laughs across the entire spectrum of comedy from the blatantly funny to the more complex jokes. There are even some heavy moral issues that provoke some thinking for the audience. Stranger Than Fiction is guaranteed to strike a cord.