Stranger Than Fiction

Marc Forster, USA, 2006, 113 minutes

A delightfully quirky film about a chain-smoking novelist (played by the brilliant Emma Thompson) who is struggling with a poorly-timed bout of writers block halfway through her newest book. Her leading man, Harold Crick, played by Will Ferrell, is unaware he’s a character until he begins to hear her narrative in his head as he goes about his everyday life. Although obviously annoying, this is not a serious problem until the narrator announces that Crick will soon die as this is how Thompson has decided to end the book! After this revelation, Ferrell tries to prevent this happening, enlisting the help of a kooky English Literature professor (Dustin Hoffman, who brings his trademark youthful energy to the role) to decipher what type of book he is a character in (comedy, tragedy etc.) with the intention of being able to prevent his untimely demise. But, will all his efforts, plus the presence of a new love interest (in the form of the delightful Maggie Gyllenhall), who is being audited by Ferrell’s ‘tax man,’ be enough to save him?!

An excellent debut by writer Zach Helm (who continues his unique style of writing with Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium), this film combines comedy and romance, but not in the traditional sense, to create something which appeals to a much wider audience.

Review by Laura Brown
Written for EUFS Programme Spring 2008