Stranger Than Fiction

I really liked it. It's a very clever concept, and easy to lose control of if you're not careful. For those of you not familiar with the story, here's an overview in 25 words or less:

Harold hears writer Karen's voice narrating his life. She says he's going to die. He tries finding her to convince her not to kill him.

25 words, and it was tough.

Will Ferrell is quite good, and not because he's funny, but because he acts the part very well. A little subdued (very subdued, by his standards), very under control. Not really any physical comedy, which can be a crutch for a comic actor who tries to play it straight without cracking jokes verbally. I know I said this about Montgomery Clift, and I certainly don't want to seem like I'm putting Ferrell at Clift's level, but his success comes from how well he uses his face. Saying an actor uses his face well is like saying a soccer player has good feet. It should be obvious, but it often goes unmentioned.

Emma Thompson plays the writer who is knowingly/unknowingly writing Harold Crick towards his death. She's great. The moment when she sees Harold in person for the first time is wonderful.

I'm not sure why Queen Latifah was playing her assistant. It's a bit of an underwhelming role for an actress who was nominated for an Oscar in Chicago a few years ago. Maybe her best stuff ended up on the cutting room floor (if they have that anymore).

Maggie Gyllenhaal is the love interest, and I thought she did a good job with a good character. She was better than attractive, she was appealing.

Digression: I think the desire that comes from appeal is stronger than what comes from attractiveness. It's a lot rarer, for one thing. And I think it's more individualistic, whereas the other is more general. A girl who can appeal to a man (and vice versa of course, ladies) is so much more special to him, though she may not appear so to others.

So Ana Pascal appeals to Harold in a very special way. She bakes cookies. She helps people. She's smart. And she's not bad lookin', either. She's a special thing in Harold's world, which is mostly lacking in anything that's not dull. Very nice.

I'm sort of wondering why Dustin Hoffman played the role of the lit professor who Harold goes to for help, but he was good. He takes sort of a twisted interest in Harold's "plight", though I can't tell if he believes him at the beginning or not.

"It's a very clever concept, and easy to lose control of if you're not careful." Quoting oneself? Ach, the last refuge of the scoundrel.

I thought that was patriotism?
Shut up.

Okay, so you've got this idea that a character can actually hear the narrator's voice in his head. And not just the narrator, but the writer herself. It would be very easy to overuse the device and ruin it by hammering the viewer with it at every opportunity, trying to get as many laughs as possible. A great quality of the film is that this does not happen. It happens here and there, but we're hardly beaten over the head with it. I think the writers' management of the "voice in the head" factor was excellent.

A really good movie all around. Not too many characters, not a quirky and complicated plot that tries to be too clever, and solid acting from all players. Good stuff.

Bah, the Cubs are losing and the Brewers winning. Could be back to a 5.5 game deficit at the end of the night for the Cubs.