A buttoned-down IRS agent named Harold Crick begins hearing a voice in his head, informing him that his death is imminent. He reacts with panic, as you would expect, when he discovers that he is a character in a novel being written by an unseen author.
Right away, you can see how daring “Stranger Than Fiction” is. No, not because it plays around with reality and fiction in ambitious, challenging ways – because it wants us to sympathize with an IRS agent. A bold move indeed!
Harold Crick, played by Will Ferrell in dialed-down mode, has lived his life on an organized grid, which we actually see projected in the movie. He doesn’t know what’s causing the voice in his head, but we do.
A famous novelist (Emma Thompson) has been stuck with writer’s block for 10 years, but has only recently begun writing again. It is her voice Harold hears – her voice writing the ending to her novel. Harold is the main character, and for the book to have the right finish, Harold must die.
The best scenes in the film are Harold’s sessions with a literature professor, played by Dustin Hoffman. The prof isn’t sure what’s going on, but he knows narrative form, and he knows that Harold is heading for either comedy or tragedy.
Hearing the voice in his head affects Harold’s encounter with a baker (Maggie Gyllenhaal) he is auditing. Harold would dearly like this to be a “romantic comedy.” But the signals say “tragedy.”
“Stranger Than Fiction” is written by first-timer Zach Helm and directed by Marc Forster (who made “Monster’s Ball” and “Finding Neverland”). It’s a sort of philosophical farce, reminiscent of “I (Heart) Huckabees” and similarly uneven.
Unfortunately, Marc Forster has no touch for directing comedy. He seems happiest when showing the novelist’s chain-smoking depression, which is ably played by Emma Thompson (but what isn’t ably played by Emma Thompson?).
The cast also includes Linda Hunt and Tom Hulce (ending a decade-long hiatus from movie acting) as therapists, and Queen Latifah as Thompson’s literary coach.
Ferrell’s underplaying is appealing, and his sweetness is just right for his scenes with Gyllenhaal, but the movie’s prevailing mood is a kind of moroseness. This is underlined by the Chicago locations, which emphasize cold, austere buildings and rooms. The movie itself feels chilly, despite its intention: to melt an IRS iceman.
Will Ferrell stars in “Stranger Than Fiction.”
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