Stranger Than Fiction
Review by Fritz Esker
People tend to view God in one of two ways. Good people who believe in God tend to think of him as a benevolent father figure, someone who has a master plan for all of us. Dogmatic jerks who believe in God tend to view him as sort of a psychotic disciplinarian who inflicts pain on all of those who don’t fall into their own narrow views of what’s “right.” I don’t buy either view. Regarding the first opinion, I always felt that there were too many hideous things that happened in the world (Katrina, the tsunami, the Holocaust, Darfur, Pol Pot, Rwanda, etc.) on a regular basis for God to be the benign father figure so many believe him to be. The second viewpoint almost isn’t even worth debunking. Basically, folks who fall into the second category are mean, hateful people who use a concept of God to justify their own cruelty and hatred. The view that I find the most appealing (and yes, please remember, all of this is just my opinion, so please don’t be offended – I am the first to admit I may be dead wrong) is that of God as an artist. In other words, God views humanity and Earth like a novelist would view his novel or a painter views his painting, i.e. affectionate, but also somewhat cold and clinical at the same time. Director Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Monster’s Ball) has made a new film called Stranger than Fiction that made me think of the God-as-artist concept.
Will Ferrell plays Harold Crick, an IRS agent who leads a painfully boring life until one day he hears the voice of an omniscient narrator (Emma Thompson). It turns out that Harold is a character in her novel and she is narrating the events of his life. One day, she announces that events have been put into motion that will lead directly to his death. Quite alarmed by this, Harold seeks the help of a literature professor (Dustin Hoffman) as he desperately tries to think of ways to save his life.
The God parallel comes in as Ferrell’s dilemma is similar to that of most people. We want to change and grow as people and find happiness (in Ferrell’s case in the film, with free-spirited baker and tax evader Maggie Gyllenhaal). However, there are things in life that one can chalk up to God, fate, or coincidence that sometimes conspire to take that happiness from us. If you happen to be at the wrong place and the wrong time as a drunk driver careens through a red light, any work that you’ve done to better yourself as a person could be rendered moot. So it goes with Ferrell in Stranger than Fiction. Just as he feels he is starting to get a grip on his life, he feels that forces outside of his control are planning to take it all away from him.
While Robin Williams and Jim Carrey have both had some level of success in dramatic roles (The Fisher King, Good Will Hunting, and a couple of others for Williams; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for Carrey), Will Ferrell seems a lot more natural than either Carrey or Williams at dramatic roles. He is an excellent comedian, but Ferrell manages to be likeable, understated, and sympathetic here without it ever seeming like he is trying painfully hard to do so. The other actors here complement him nicely (with the exception of Queen Latifah, though it’s no fault of her own – she simply is given absolutely nothing to do by the script). Thompson as the reclusive author, Hoffman as the literature professor, and Gyllenhaal as the romantic interest, all turn in strong, empathetic performances.
In addition to the aforementioned themes, the film also explores the fine line all of our lives walk between comedy and tragedy, which was also explored in Ferrell’s underrated Melinda and Melinda. The script, by Zach Helm, also delves into the ruthlessness all authors end up displaying towards some of their creations.
My fear regarding Stranger than Fiction is that it will get lost in the avalanche of films that will be opening on and around the Thanksgiving holidays (it also opened one week after Borat, which has proven to be one of the biggest publicity magnets in quite some time). If that happens, it would be a shame. Stranger than Fiction is a thoughtful, moving film that deserves to find an audience.