Stranger Than Fiction – Film Review Fridays

“‘Stranger Than Fiction’ is a surrealist dramedy starring Will Ferrell”, Mason wrote. As the keys on his laptop clicked with every letter forming longer and longer sentences, his mind wandered to scenes from the film, in particular, the emotional finale where the main character finds himself closer to death than ever. What Mason did not know was that he too would soon meet an unsatisfying end. As soon as the review had been posted, he would find himself suffering from a rare case of food poisoning that would hospitalise him till the end of his days. He would be doomed to live in a hospital bed with Emma Thompson narrating his the rest of his existence until his miserable end.

Once every few years, there’ll be a perfect film targeted at writers, whether it be as dramatic as ‘The Words’, centered around Bradley Cooper plagiarising an entire book or ‘A Futile And Stupid Gesture’, dramatising the rise and fall of Doug Kenney. All writers will imagine themselves as their own characters, which ‘Stranger Than Fiction’ cleverly abuses and takes the expression “killing your darlings” extremely seriously. 

‘Stranger Than Fiction’ is a surrealist dramedy starring Will Ferrell as Harold Crick, a tax accountant who, one day, hears the voice of Karen Eiffel, a famous author, narrating his every move. Alarm bells are rung when she announces that Crick will soon die with no confirmed date. Panicked, Harold enlists the help of literary Professor Jules Hilbert to investigate the novel he finds himself in and hopefully, change the book’s ending. Meanwhile, Karen suffers from writer’s block and is helped by Penny Escher to find the best possible ending to the book, and of course, find the perfect way to kill Harold off.

Will Ferrell plays Harold in one of his few dramatic roles, and with Harold essentially possessing the same level of importance as an extra, marvellously nurtures the bond between character and audience. Harold is nothing special but Ferrell, through his deadpan comedy, successfully shaves away the dullness little by little to have you begging for his survival in the last act. Dustin Hoffman plays Jules and strikes a nice balance between reality and supporting. Initially, I was annoyed by Hoffman’s display of apathy towards the final act but I soon remembered there is absolutely no one who would believe Harold. Hoffman’s performance reminds you that if someone from your life needed help with a narrator only they can here, you wouldn’t support them the way Jules does. Jules is a bittersweet character, he’ll help, but there’s a limit. Emma Thompson plays Karen Eiffel and masterfully shows the ridiculous nature of authors we imagine. Standing on desks to imagine you’re on the Empire State Building, asking to look at deathly ill strangers in hospital and staring at a bridge in the rain. Don’t get me wrong, these practices could help with writer’s block, but Thompson is an important tool in satirising them. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Ana and beautifully presents a juxtaposition of aggressive, radical, government-hating baker. Like Ferrell, Gyllenhaal spends the runtime convincing the audience there’s more to her character, presenting a more tolerable and inviting persona.

I believe this film will be the closest we’ll ever get to a ‘Stanley Parable’ film, if you loved that game, you’ll fall in love with this movie. The questioning of reality, whether we’re real or book characters, lines of code in a simulation or just a thought from a future Da Vinci is always a treat for me, and ‘Stranger Than Fiction’ acts out those thoughts bittersweetly with amazing execution.

Mason’s Top 3 Reasons To Watch ‘Stranger Than Fiction’

1. A brilliant showcase of Ferrell’s dramatic chops
2. One of the few films targeting and recognising writers actually about writing
3. An ever-increasing tension that will make you question the possibilities of reality and have you on your knees, praying for Harold’s life

Image Credit: Dailymotion