The film Stranger than Fiction, directed by Marc Forster in the year 2006, stars Will Ferrell as Harold Crick, the main character and protagonist of his own story. An author by the name Karen Eiffel, played by Emma Thompson, has been working on her newest work of fiction titled Death and Taxes. In which Harold is faced with many obstacles soon leading him to fall in love with Ana Pascal, Maggie Gyllenhaal, a baker whom he is supposed to be auditing. This film could be interpreted as many different genres; comedy, drama, romance, tragedy, action, personally I feel as though the film is a “dramatic comedy”. Stranger than Fiction has an amazing, emotional plot paired particularly well with the intriguing cast and dynamic story line.  

The film Stranger than Fiction is a particularly strange film, a film in which a man, Harold Crick, begins hearing a voice, not two or three – proving the therapist who suggested he was hearing multiple voice as a result of schizophrenia wrong- but one voice. He soon realizes that the English woman’s voice is narrating his life, any and everything that he does is being explained by the woman, in such dramatic detail. Harold not quite understanding that his life, his “destiny”, has been essentially scripted out for him seeks help from a  non-psychiatric standpoint. Harold visits a professor by the name, Jules Hilbert, and is bombarded with questions about his life and all of the things he wishes to do or has already done. The professor explains that he is only curiously asking these questions because he is attempting to determine if Harold’s story is a comedy or a tragedy. Comedy, he lives. Tragedy, he dies. Harold mentions to Hilbert that he is auditing a certain Ms. Pascal who may have knowledge as to whether or not his story is a comedy or a tragedy. The professor has him run with the idea and tally how many comedic and tragic events happen that day, Harold discovers that his story is a tragedy.

Throughout the film Harold has to learn an important lesson, he must learn to live his life. To most people that may seem easy, you live your life; you breath and get through the day, but to Karen Eiffel living has a completely different definition. To Ms. Eiffel living a life means adventure, living a life means love, living means spontaneity. Whereas to Harold living means counting; counting the strokes of his toothbrush, counting apples in a bowl, counting the money that people owe the government, and going home to sleeps and counting how many hours until he has to restart. Life shouldn’t mean counting.

Marc Forster, the director of Stranger than Fiction, showed many visual elements that played into the film’s plot. One scene in particular makes the reader, watching the film wonder why he chose to film that way, but also love it at the same time. The screen flashes from Harold and Ana, to a woman putting on a uniform, then back to Harold, then to a little boy ready to ride his bike. The film shows Harold no longer counting the apples in that bowl but rather picking one up and hurrying on about his day.

The film, though a great one was not a favorite of mine. If I had to give a rating I’d say; three out of five stars for believably, and five out of five stars for plot and creativity. I recommend watching the film if what interests you is a comedic drama with a slight action twist.