You’d be forgiven for thinking that this is another movie based upon a mind-warping script from quirky scribe Charlie Kaufman, the man behind Being John Malkovich (1999) and Adaptation (2002), but it’s not. It’s actually the work of debut scribbler Zak Helm and as such it stands up as fantastic piece of work from a first-time screenwriter.
When Harold wakes one day to hear his life being narrated by a woman with a British accent and a better vocabulary, he quickly realises the perceptions of the people around him and becomes aware of the trivial idiosyncrasies that make up his everyday life. Harold becomes increasingly agitated, until one day he hears that he has set in motion the events that will lead to his death. Crick determines that he must find and stop the narrator before he meets his end.
Treading a similar route to Jim Carrey in The Truman Show (1998), Will Ferrell opts for a restrained approach as hapless IRS man Harold Crick only letting loose once or twice with a trademark frustrated man-child yell. Ferrell’s performance lends his character pathos and sympathy as he strives to convince everyone that he isn’t crazy, although he’s essentially hearing a voice in his head. Maggie Gyllenhaal is excellent as the pissed off cookie bakery owning anarchist undergoing an audit from Ferrell’s milquetoast taxman, becoming an unlikely love interest.
Stranger Than Fiction moves along at a nice, steady pace as Crick tries desperately to find the author of the persistent commentary accompanying his everyday life. Dustin Hoffman provides solid support as the English lecturer helping Harold through his unique dilemma, playing a similar character to the one portrayed in I Heart Huckabee’s (2004).
A feel good romantic comedy, marred only by line graphics that soon grate after excessive use and a pointless turn from Queen Latifah, Stranger Than Fiction is a success, despite a somewhat cosy conclusion. Well-written, well executed, funny and heart warming, Stranger Than Fiction is well worth seeing.
****
When Harold wakes one day to hear his life being narrated by a woman with a British accent and a better vocabulary, he quickly realises the perceptions of the people around him and becomes aware of the trivial idiosyncrasies that make up his everyday life. Harold becomes increasingly agitated, until one day he hears that he has set in motion the events that will lead to his death. Crick determines that he must find and stop the narrator before he meets his end.
Treading a similar route to Jim Carrey in The Truman Show (1998), Will Ferrell opts for a restrained approach as hapless IRS man Harold Crick only letting loose once or twice with a trademark frustrated man-child yell. Ferrell’s performance lends his character pathos and sympathy as he strives to convince everyone that he isn’t crazy, although he’s essentially hearing a voice in his head. Maggie Gyllenhaal is excellent as the pissed off cookie bakery owning anarchist undergoing an audit from Ferrell’s milquetoast taxman, becoming an unlikely love interest.
Stranger Than Fiction moves along at a nice, steady pace as Crick tries desperately to find the author of the persistent commentary accompanying his everyday life. Dustin Hoffman provides solid support as the English lecturer helping Harold through his unique dilemma, playing a similar character to the one portrayed in I Heart Huckabee’s (2004).
A feel good romantic comedy, marred only by line graphics that soon grate after excessive use and a pointless turn from Queen Latifah, Stranger Than Fiction is a success, despite a somewhat cosy conclusion. Well-written, well executed, funny and heart warming, Stranger Than Fiction is well worth seeing.
****
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