Worth seeing

Rating: 7/10 (26 March 2013)

The film tells the story of an IRS agent who starts to hear a voice in his head narrating his life, without knowing where it comes from, or whether he's losing his mind. This voice is that of the character played by Emma Thompson, an agoraphobic, depressed writer desperately trying to finish her last novel, unknowingly using the life of a real person as her inspiration.
The film, though primarily a comedy, is much more than that, and it doesn't hesitate to give us a few great emotional and dramatic scenes, culminating in the second half of the movie when the character hears the voice predicting his death. It also explores the theme of control. The main character first feels he is controlled by the voice who knows even before him what he's going to do, but he soon discovers that if he is controlled, it's by his neurotic tendencies.
Will Ferrel, the main actor, does a tremendous job in this difficult role. A lot of his scenes involve close-ups of him reacting to this mysterious voice he hears, and he conveys his confusion and panic beautifully. His reactions range from hilarious at first to heart-breaking when he's on the brink of losing hope, and it feels genuine every time.
This film tells us the journey of this character, seemingly living a small, insignificant life, realizing that maybe he aspires to more when it is retold to him in excruciating details by the voice. But at the same time, it shows that every life has its worth, even the most mundane.
The end is a little predicable, but offers an interesting conclusion for the characters. If you like atypical movies you should like this one.