Live a Little, Watch Stranger than Fiction		Image courtesy of Sony Pictures
Stranger than Fiction, the newest film by veteran director Marc Foster, is a film to be enjoyed by everyone who has ever felt, even for a moment, that their lives were not their own, but were instead enslaved by routine. Harold Crick is one such person. He works for the IRS and goes through his daily routine with the same precision as he would apply in doing his own taxes.  As she narrates his life with uncanny precision, Harold finds out that the events leading up to the moment of his death have been set in motion.  The professor’s advice is to develop his story into a comedy by pursuing a relationship with Ana Pascal, a baker who loathes him because he is auditing her. As a result, Harold truly finds out what it is to live. No longer confined by his daily routine, he learns to let go and live a little.
Will Ferrell stars convincingly as Harold Crick. This role strays from the farce of his usual flicks. Unlike in Anchorman or Talladega Nights, audiences here get to experience a quieter, more subtle side to Will Ferrell. Maggie Gyllenhahl plays Ana Pascal. As long as audiences buy into the audible narrator bit, it should not be too much more of a stretch to buy the chemistry between Ferrell and Gyllenhahl. The interaction seems almost natural. Like in real life, sometimes the unlikeliest of couples make the sweetest pair.  His character is an uptight government agency worker who ties his necktie in a certain way to save himself forty-three seconds; her character is a bohemian baker and the kind of person to trade a wedding cake for an acoustic guitar. Clearly a case of “opposites attract.” It works. Another unlikely duo in the film is Emma Thompson paired up with Queen Latifah. This pairing is not as successful, however. Emma Thompson plays Kay Eiffel, the author of Harold’s story, and Queen Latifah plays Penny, the assistant sent by Kay’s publishers to help her finish her novel. Perhaps the disappointing coupling stems from the underdeveloped Penny character, but perhaps Latifah’s performance just did not bring anything to the movie. The role made no use at all of her talents as an actress. Rather than the sharp, animated Queen seen in Taxi or Last Holiday, audiences had to settle for a bland, mild Latifah confined to a minor character similar to the one she played in The Bone Collector.  On the other hand, Thompson delivered a wonderful portrayal of Kay in all of her morbid, idiosyncratic splendor. She was a fantastic choice. The casting director got it right again with choosing award-winner, Dustin Hoffman to play literary theorist Jules Hilbert. Hoffman was completely convincing as a well-read man; however, his detached interest in Harold’s case was a little too reminiscent of his role in I Heart Huckabees. Stranger than Fiction was aesthetically pleasing as well as heart-warming. Sets throughout the movie were amazing in their attention to detail and capturing the personality of the associated character just so. Harold’s apartment is drab, filled with grays and browns, and has lots of right angles and he comes across as being a little square. In contrast, Ana’s place is a veritable festival of prints, colors, and soft shapes which suits her free spirit. Kay’s workspace is completely white, which made sense in that she has a god-like role in Harold's life. Jules Hilbert has his cozy study with a wall of books and warm brown leather furniture. The visual design of the movie brought all the emotions from the characters together because although the sets were very different from one another, they had a like stylization which was appealing throughout the film. Similarly, all films directed by Foster have a likeness despite the differing genres.  Stay, not yet released when Foster began working on Stranger than Fiction, is a psychological thriller starring Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts, and Ryan Gosling.  Finding Neverland is a family drama featuring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet and was the first collaboration between Foster and Hoffman.  Certainly, one of Foster's greatest works is Monster's Ball, a compelling drama starring Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry.  The shared aspect of these films is the vision and innovation that Foster breathes into them.  Stranger than Fiction is no exception.  What a comforting film!  This movie won its way into my top ten favorites. As inexplicable as an audible narrator may be, the film is a serious comedy, one to be enjoyed by anyone who knows what it is like to live every day the same way, and just by anyone who likes to laugh. It would be a shame to miss out on watching Stranger than Fiction simply because the Academy might ignore it. Marc Foster offers his take on this original idea, and works with – not just big-name actors – GOOD actors to make this film a must-see. The collaboration in this film is sincere, and the story itself is heartening. Take a little time away from your busy schedule and rent this when it comes out this February.  Live a little. © Julie O’Brien 2007
Running Time:	1 hr. 53 min.
Release Date:	November 10, 2006
MPAA Rating:	PG-13 (some disturbing images, sexuality, brief language, and nudity, )
Distributor:	Sony Pictures
Language:	English