Strangely enough, ‘Fiction’ is satisfying

It is a generally acknowledged fact of storytelling that tragedies end in death while comedies end in marriage. 

A character in “Stranger than Fiction” verbalizes that literary rule and the film as a whole plays with that concept throughout its entirety. It keeps one foot in both worlds  and the audience guessing the outcome until the final scenes of the film.

The fate of the story is uncertain until the end of “Stranger than Fiction” (Columbia), but the film itself is enjoyable in every scene leading to the genre-defining moment.

Will Ferrell plays Harold Crick, a loveable IRS auditor trapped in a fictional story by a famous tragedy author, Karen Eiffel, played by Emma Thompson.

Crick is the main character in the novel she is writing at the time and as she writes about the man she believes is a character in the book, the real living Crick is compelled to follow her narrative and begins to doubt his sanity as he hears her voice narrate his life.

After hearing the narration inform him of his “imminent death,” Crick seeks advice from Professor Jules Hilbert, a scholar of literature, played by Dustin Hoffman. Meanwhile, a love story surfaces when Crick has to audit an anarchist baker played by Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Fluffy and overly cute at times, the film is redeemed by funny scenes and characters, most especially by Thompson and Hoffman. Ferrell may star in the film, but Thompson and Hoffman steal the show.

Thompson’s portrayal of an author obsessed with finding a way to kill her main character leads her into hospitals, sitting in the rain imagining car accidents and standing on the edge of her dining room table imagining suicide deaths. It’s nothing short of hilarious.

Likewise, Hoffman nails the part of the quirky professor with a much greater concern for great literature than Crick’s life.

In a film that could have easily been a flop, the extreme talent of Hoffman and Thompson shines through even the most mundane parts of the script creating hilarious characters that shape the film.

That is not to say that the Ferrell and Gyllenhaal plotline is not well acted. It is well done, but where Thompson and Hoffman were able to take a mediocre script and transform it into brilliance, Ferrell and Gyllenhaal only manage to take mediocre to good — a success, but a pale one in comparison to their co-stars’ performances.

While the dialogue was awkward at times, the concept behind the script itself played out very well on screen. Watching the film feels like reading the latest edgy creative writing novel as Eiffel narrates the counting of Harold’s steps, the number of strokes he makes while brushing his teeth and other ways he carefully calculates his time.

This attention to how Harold spends every moment focuses in on the lack of time in one’s life and the importance of living the life one has always dreamed of.

When it appears Crick is doomed to die, Professor Hilbert encourages him to seize the day. Crick takes that advice and pursues the anarchist baker.

From the beginning of the film the focus is on time.

The fictional book that Crick is part of begins, “This is a story about Harold Crick. And his watch.” Time passing and the importance of seizing the moment is subtly emphasized throughout the film.

Furthermore, the plot is motivated by Crick’s fear of his “imminent death” and “Stranger than Fiction” eventually ends up making a surprisingly interesting commentary on openness to, and acceptance of, one’s pending death.

A surprisingly deep message for what, at first glance, appears to be a rather surface-level film.

“Stranger than Fiction” is a bit predictable and moves slowly at times, but the acting is so fantastic and the characters so interesting, that the viewer will forgive the slow pace.

The Ferrell and Gyllenhaal chemistry is a little forced, but any weaknesses are quickly forgotten by the engaging and hilarious performances provided by Thompson and Hoffman.

The idea is clever, the dialogue weak, but the acting brilliant enough for every flaw to be forgiven. Even with a list of weaknesses, “Stranger than Fiction” is oddly satisfying.

Rebecca Bostic is a regular contributor to The Catholic Sun. Comments are welcome. Send e-mail to letters@catholicsun.org.