When Professor Jules Hilbert (played by Dustin Hoffman) tells writer Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson) describes her book as “It’s OK. It’s not bad,” he could be talking about the movie itself, “Stranger than Fiction.”
The film explores a subject that has been broached numerous times in literature, a writer whose character comes to life (Stephen King did it in the short story “Umney’s Last Case” for one).
In “Fiction” the hero of Eiffel’s latest book, Harold Crick (Will Ferrell), is living his last days. Little does he know, his death is imminent, as long as Eiffel can figure out how to write it. Eiffel is besieged by writer’s block. Thompson overplays the part, a writer who is overexerted because she can’t finish her book. She’s a recluse because she hasn’t completed a book in a decade.
Eventually Crick starts hearing Eiffel’s thoughts in his head. He starts to question his sanity because he can’t make her voice disappear. Enter Ferrell’s comical talent. His goofiness lends to his character losing control, completely out of character for Crick. Working for the IRS, Crick is your stereotypical movie-IRS employee: no fun, no friends, boring because he has to be. Ferrell’s performance is engaging. He’s not slapsticky except when he has to be. But the role isn’t so demanding that you’re left in awe of Ferrell. It’s a good stepping stone if he intends to show he also is capable of acting in serious roles, a la Jim Carrey.
Crick has to audit a baker, Ana Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Enter the love story. Inexplicably, Pascal falls for Crick. There’s no reason for it. She’s the complete opposite of him, a pseudo-anarchist, baker/philanthropist who can’t stand the government and worse, the taxman. Crick falls for her from the get-go. Eventually they get together and fall in love. The love story between Pascal and Crick is trite, but enjoyable, thanks to Gyllenhaal’s and Ferrell’s compatibility.
Meanwhile, Crick hides his questioned sanity from no one but Pascal. In fact, he’s so open about going crazy, it doesn’t make sense why he would hide it from her. While questioning his sanity a psychiatrist sends him to see a professor. That’s where Hilbert comes in. (Hilbert apparently is also a lifeguard for old people. No it’s never explained, and if there is a deeper meaning it was buried at the bottom of the pool.) Hilbert decides to help Crick try and discover the writer that’s in his head. When Crick realizes it’s Eiffel, Hilbert tells Crick that the author kills all of her novels’ heroes.
Crick tracks down Eiffel and confronts her. The scene is eerie. Eiffel comes face to face with her latest character. She realizes that she must have killed other people in the world through her writing. This disturbing fact alters Eiffel and alters her book. What could have been a great ending, gets re-written.
Director Marc Foster (Finding Neverland, Monster’s Ball) brings in some attractive elements and graphics, the sterility of Eiffel’s apartment compared to the cluttered office of Hilbert. The graphics to emphasize Crick’s obsession with numbers is fun to watch. The vacuum feeling of the IRS’ vaults is Matrix-esque.
The conclusion wraps up nicer than a Meg Ryan-Tom Hanks film, leaving you with the feeling that the movie, like Eiffel’s book pre-alteration, could have been a great work.
