>>REVIEW
STRANGER THAN FICTION
STARRING Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Dustin Hoffman
DIRECTED BY Marc Forster
Opens Friday, November 10
Check listings
I have an unabashed love for Will Ferrell. Think what you want of me but when I look at that man’s eyes I see the tragic soul of a true comedian the likes of Andy Kaufman or Bill Murray. As a cognizant species, being able to laugh our way through the tragedy of life is probably the single greatest gift we have and in that regard, comedians could be viewed as life’s true prophets (that’s right, I’ve just equated Will Ferrell with Jesus).
Marc Foster (Monster’s Ball, Finding Neverland) helms the latest vehicle for Ferrell, and Stranger Than Fiction is a delightful balance of humour and pathos that is a perfect fit to Ferrell’s emerging dramatic abilities. Scripted by Hollywood’s latest "it" man Zach Helm, the story re-examines the lines drawn between fiction, life and art. It’s essentially a delightful repackaged Charlie Kauffman with a wider appeal.
Ferrell is Harold Crick, a sterile, socially inept IRS agent living a lonely life of quiet desperation that he keeps at bay with a religious adherence to routine (he brushes each of his 28 teeth 28 times). Things quickly start to unravel for Crick when he begins hearing a British woman’s voice narrating his thoughts and actions. Unable to accept the possibility that he is schizophrenic and disturbed by the voice’s revelation that his death is "imminent," Crick ends up in the empathetic hands of Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman), a literary professor and scholar who helps him to determine whether or not his story is a comedy or a tragedy. Their efforts eventually, though inadvertently, lead them to Kay Eiffel (a fabulous Emma Thompson), an acclaimed novelist renowned for killing off the heroes in each of her novels. Eiffel is the author of his beleaguered life and is struggling to find the appropriate way to kill poor Harold Crick.
Ferrell is at his best here and the heart of this film. Rather then selling out the pathetic Crick for cheap laughs, he embraces him, taking the absurd and delivering us a sincere and sympathetic character garnished with his deadpan humour. It is because of his skilful balancing act of humour and pathos – comedy and tragedy – that Will Ferrell’s talents as an actor will age like a fine wine.
It’s also why Charlie Kauffman and Ricky Bobby fans alike should leave the theatre smiling. |
Copyright ©2006 FFWD. All rights reserved.