Released: November 10th,
2006
Rated: PG-13
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Starring: Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin
Hoffman, Queen Latifah, Emma Thompson
Directed by: Marc Forster
Written by: Zach Helm
Personal Bias Alert: likes the cast, likes novel-style narration
9.5 of 10
Harold
Crick is a man who counts his toothbrush strokes. That says a lot about a person, making it exactly
the kind of detail that a novelist would hone in on when describing their
character. So precise and so orderly a
man would be perfect for high tragedy or comedy, an idea that Stranger than Fiction toys with for the
better part of the movie only to flip on its head. Most of the movie does this, setting up ideas
with two possible outcomes only to take option C, a sweet and steady route that
goes somewhere between what you thought was possible.
In
the film, Harold (Will Ferrell) wakes up to find his life being narrated. Only he can hear the voice of Karen (Emma
Thompson), who is in fact struggling to finish a book that ends in Harold’s
death. Her observations seem to kick in
just when a novel would start, i.e. just when exciting things start to happen
in Harold’s life. It’s a tragedy that it
took Harold this long to take an interest in what’s going on around him, but
the layers that get peeled back reveal a witty, love-struck man (he’s fallen
for an anarchist baker played by Maggie Gyllenhaal) that could easily morph the
story into a comedy. These are the two
options laid out for Harold by literary professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman),
who Harold turns to to figure out which author is bringing about his imminent
death.
The
high-concept pitch that a writer is writing a real man’s life is one that’s
been used many times over, but what makes Zach Helm’s screenplay truly stand
out is the tone he manages to hit. It’s
on the one hand extremely literary in its wording and themes, on the other hand
sweet in its romance and characters, on one foot light and breezy in its
movement, and on the other foot emotionally impactful in its big moments. Note that I said tone, singular, because all
of this magically feels like one complete feeling. Of course, the only magic involved is Helm’s
pitch-perfect screenplay, which on top of all this makes subtle nods to
scientific and mathematic theories without being in-your-face about it. It’s one of the most approachably smart
screenplays you’ll come across, laying a groundwork that would’ve been
heartbreaking to see flubbed.
Luckily,
director Marc Forster applies a perfect visual palette to Helm’s tale, picking
up on every beat and adding a little flourish to bring it all home. The film is bright and warm with oddball
little things like equations and diagrams popping up as people go about their
day. It’s a subtle nod to the fantasy
world the film exists it, one that all films exist in but few feel so
comfortable wallowing in. You are, it
says to the audience, being told a story, and it invites you to snuggle in
close and be swept along with the tale.
As
if these bountiful riches aren’t enough, the film is bursting with a superb
cast, from reliable stalwarts like Thompson and Hoffman to side players like
Queen Latifah and Tony Hale. But this is
Ferrell’s movie, and the role demands a gamut of skills audiences hadn’t seen
from the comedian in 2006. He had to be funny,
yes, but in a quiet way; the exact opposite of how he was in Talladega Nights and Anchorman. Mostly, though, Harold must be timid and
lovable. The film, like the book within
it, is about figuring out how to find happiness in your life, and its lessons
aren’t big or grand. To make the whole
thing work, Ferrell had to scale Harold’s actions down and trust that the larger
emotions of the film’s moments would ring through. Never is that more apparent than in a scene
where he strums a guitar, singing in a wavering voice that explodes into a
moment of pure ecstasy. Gyllenhaal’s
reaction to his quiet bravery is what makes it work, and this trust that Ferrell
and Gyllenhaal show in each other makes for a lovely spark of romance.
Stranger than Fiction radiates a
tenderness that few films dare aspire to, which all but covers up its minor
flaws. The hairs on my neck stand up
every time the film espouses its final verdict on life, rejuvenating me in bad
times and solidifying me in good. What
more can you ask of your fiction?
Other Notes:
Ø Don’t
miss the fun fact that Emma Thompson plays a writer and is a writer in real
life. See her Best Adapted Screenplay
Oscar for 1995’s Sense and Sensibility.
Ø Admittedly,
not everyone else is as high on this film as I am. Rotten Tomatoes has it at 72%, Metacritic at
67%, and IMDB at 7.6 of 10.
Ø “Anarchists
have a group?”
