Stranger Than Fiction is one of the best written films I've seen that deals with writers. It delves deeply into the psyche of a novelist who must confront the question of what to do with her main character. The film is comedic and tragic at the same time. I enjoyed watching it, even though I thought the meaning of the film was muddled towards the end. Stranger Than Fiction was released in 2006. It was directed by Marc Forster and stars Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman, and Maggie Gyllenhall.
The film centers around Harold Crick. He's an IRS agent who leads a rather dull life. All he thinks about is numbers, audits, etc. It is only when he begins to hear a voice narrating his life that he wakes up from his banal life to the reality that it could be better. He suspects he might be crazy, but that is not the case. In a twist of fate he is actually a character in a novelist's new book. The major conflict becomes a question of whether Harold should live. Will Emma Thompson's character kill off Harold? Or will he end up happily ever after with Maggie Gyllenhall?
There are four major characters in the film. I enjoyed all of the roles. They fit just right. First was Will Ferrell who was known for his impression of George W. Bush on Saturday Night Live. I thought he played the role of Harold admirably well. He is a comedic actor thrust into the very dour and unfunny world of auditors, the IRS, and bureaucratic dullness. It follows the playbook for comedies by putting Ferrell who is incredibly funny into a setting which is undeniably boring. When he changes into Harold by the end of the film it brings about a positive change in his character. It is well written and well thought out.
I thought the casting of the film was great. Emma Thompson as the author with writer's block was excellent. I could see this role growing out of her period piece dramas like Howard's End and The Remains of the Day. The same could be said for the character of Professor Hilbert played by Dustin Hoffman. It seemed as if he was a grownup Benjamin from The Graduate. Benjamin having grown into the role of a Professor of Literature was an excellent choice. And Maggie Gyllenhall turns in a good performance as the punk girl from the bakery. It's too bad her role was rather tamped down from the script. In the script there is more mention of her sympathies for Socialism and punk rock.
I thought the film was very well written. The idea of the story was original and new. I haven't encountered too many films that deal with an IRS agent who is really a character in a novel. When I watched the film for the first time it reminded me of Kafka and his writings about struggles against bureaucracy. It seemed that Harold was a bug that could be squashed by an unknown power at any moment.
The other aspects of the film were rather minimal. The math graphics added a nice touch to show how Harold was seeing the World. Counting everything. Seeing everything as a diagram. The closeups were a nice touch. But there was nothing too great about the cinematography or editing or mise en scene. It was a rather straight forward, simple film. Special effects weren't really needed to tell the story which was the best part of the film. It's refreshing to know that you can still make a great film with a very good story without having to jazz it up with too much special effects or spandex.
I would have liked to see more of what was in the script about Ana Pascal. In the screenplay she is far more left wing then in the film. Perhaps the producers thought if they made her too anarchist then audiences would dislike her. I thought the contrary. It makes her falling in love with Harold that much more improbable and funny and sweet. To think that a Socialist Revolutionary would fall for an IRS agent is very madcap and I would have liked to see it played up more. The song Harold plays for Ana is great. But the song from the script, I thought, was better. It was a song about a punk rock girl. Not some girl from Tahiti which she was obviously not. It would have been better if they stuck with the script.
The film is laden with analysis. I suppose the major theme is about fate. Do we control our destinies? Is there someone somewhere writing our story and we are just following along? The film illustrates that theme well. And we have Professor Hilbert there to explain it all. In the scene where Harold and Professor Hilbert are talking about the end of the novel, Professor Hilbert seems to say that we do have a destiny and we have to play our roles even if it means dying tragically. It seems that Harold, like the Kafka story, is just a bug crawling around a World that he has no say in what will happen. It seems that we have no control over our fates. It is only by the sympathy of a higher power that we have any chance to live a happy and fulfilling life.
I read the screenplay and watched Stranger Than Fiction as part of a study about films that deal with writers. It is a good film. It's enjoyable to watch, but never gets that serious or deep. It certainly isn't as dark as Sunset Boulevard which is a film noir from 1950. There Joe Gillis deals with a similar question as to Harold Crick, who controls his fate? Is it Norma Desmond? Why doesn't Joe just settle for being her boyfriend and try to writer something on the side? Why isn't he honest? Stranger Than Fiction is decidedly different. Harold is extremely honest. So are everyone else in the film. Perhaps there is too much honesty and it's too much of a sugar coated film that doesn't deal with the dark side of human nature. Why doesn't Harold just kill Kay? Why doesn't he take control of his life? And further more how could he fall for the anarchist? Isn't that against his firm principles as an IRS agent? But this is a comedy! It is funny in parts, but it's not hilarious, laugh out loud funny. It's a light romantic comedy that seems to have been marketed to the date night demographic.
So if you are looking for a movie to watch with your hubby this one would probably be enjoyable. But if you are looking for something that has high drama this one is probably one to avoid. But of course if you are looking for a film that shows the struggles of a writer and how they deal with characters and stories Stranger Than Fiction is a watch.
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