Stranger than Fiction
‘Stranger than Fiction’ is a very popular movie that was released in 2006. Marc Forster directed the film. The starring in this film includes the likes of Maggie Gyllenhaal, Will Ferrell, Queen Latifah, Dustin Hoffman, and Emma Thompson. The movie was open for public viewing in November 18, 2006 after its release. The movie captured attention of many viewers because of the hearty issues that it openly expressed. The movie is rated PG-13 because it has some disturbing images, brief language, sexuality, as well as nudity. The premise of ‘Stranger than Fiction’ perfectly matched the interest of comedians such as Will Farrell who became of the main starring character. In this movie, Will Farrell played the role of a man who had just discovered that he is the main character in a certain novel and the author of that novel controls actions of every other person. According to Will Farrell, this was a stirring discovery that was meant to permanently change his life forever (Hall 99).
Although the movie entirely sounds to be a knockabout comic premise, it actually turns out as one of the most interesting nuances ever acted. This enabled it capture the attention of most movie lovers. The movie features several characters with contrasting personality. One of the main characters, Harold Crick turns out to be one of the most boring people we can ever imagine. He played the role of a tax collector working for IRS. Harold Crick is presented in the movie has having neither life nor fantasy. This actually makes it a strange happening when he begins to hear certain voice. He hears the voice of an omniscient female narrator talking about him with unusual British accent. Most interestingly, after only a few days, the voice gets highly disconcerting that Harold is overtaken by fear. He then decides to get outside help but none was immediately forthcoming. After realizing that his main problem was the narrator of the voice, Harold decides to get literary critic. Dustin Hoffman then played the role of the literary critic (Braudy and Marshall 54).
While playing his role as a literary critic, Dustin Hoffman asks Harold several questions as he tries to establish and determine the kind of story he has been listening to. He figured out that he could use the process of elimination to establish and determine what had been narrated to Harold. However, he was slow and Harold became nervous and anxious. Harold realized that he did not have that much time to listen to Dustin Hoffman. It was a slow process that could take a long time. Harold then became so upset because Dustin Hoffman was just narrating everything that has happened. What made it so upsetting was that Dustin Hoffman said these things would happen yet they had already happened. In this movie, Thompson played the part of a semi-suicidal author, while Queen Latifah acted as his immediate assistant. What is noticed in this movie is that both the filmmakers and the actors took a more unexpected restrained approach thus keeping the humor very gentle. Also, they mostly used the jokes basically as a literary premise throughout the movie (Jaffe 76).
Later on, Harold gets involved in a love affair with a young baker. Maggie Gyllenhall played the role of the young baker. This love affair sparked the movie to its end. During the beginning of their affair, Harold brings Maggie Gyllenhall baking flour. It is the kind of flour that she could comfortably use to bake. It was not the kind of flour with blossoms. Harold’s choice of the flour was obviously a nice conceit. Most of the storytelling in this movie is equally sharp and interesting. For instance, the characters found in this movie are defined by spaces that they occupied and the stories that they tell. Furthermore, each story element in this movie effectively blends with an existential logic. The storyline is cleverly executed that it might not appear to be all about an author that has troubles with his characters not until the last five minutes of the movie. This is when the insight of the movie is vividly revealed (British Film Institute 56).
This movie presents contrasting views of people concerning the art industry. It is argued that many people strongly believe that outside forces manipulate them to act. Such people do not entirely believe that they are free to act by their own will. Some call themselves schizophrenic, while others diagnosed them as Marxists. On the other hand, writers argue that characters that they create are free to take on a life of their own choice. In other words, characters are free to demand a say in their fates. The author does not fix the fictive fates of the characters. These are the two major notions that clearly come out in the fascinating movie “Stranger than Fiction.” Director Marc Forster perfectly used his literary skills and experiences to make this theme come out very clear. This American-based German movie director is best known for his work in The Writing of Peter Pan, Picture About JM Barrie, and Finding Neverland (Ebert 55).
In essence, the movie “Stranger than Fiction” is a special type of post-modern movies that is characterized by a peculiar philosophical bent. This fascinating movie explores many issues but the major one includes creativity in a play and identity of characters. These two issues are quite eccentric with fashions, especially, in the modern movie setting. Looking back, several other movies have tried to explore these themes. Some of these movies include the ‘Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ by John Malkovich. However, the most obvious comparison comes from ‘Melinda and Melinda’, a movie written and directed by Woody Allen. This movie is a very interesting one and it also stars Will Ferrell and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Just like ‘Stranger than Fiction’, this movie also posse the same question: does characters have control of their fictive fate? The script of these movies reveals nearly the same answer for this striking question (Caldwell 88).
Another theme that is widely explored in this movie regards life as a comedy or tragedy. The movie poses a heartfelt question to determine whether life is a tragedy or comedy. The movie provides answer to this question by looking at the life of Ferrell plays the Harold Crick. He takes the role of a special agent worming for Federal Revenue Service as a tax collector. As a tax collector, Ferrell constantly intrigue other people’s lives by his unusual investigations (Speed and James 87). As part of his normal duty, Ferrell is constantly investigating people for tax evasion. This practice makes him at loggerhead with most people who consider him an intruder to their personal life. His character is also worth noting: a creature of habit, organized to a fault, and very punctilious. He live a life that is uncluttered by several contrasting attachments and emotions. He then meetsMaggie Gyllenhaal, a well-organized baker for an investigation into her financial affairs. Maggie Gyllenhaal is portrayed as free-spirited and generous anarchist who is not willing to pay taxes for funding things she disapprove of morally. The life, physical attractiveness, and manner of Maggie Gyllenhaal begin to upset Ferrell. This set in a love scenario between the two characters. Love then begun. However, Ferrell is disturbed by certain female voice that sounds like someone commenting on his personal thoughts and actions (Palahniuk 87).
The funniest scene in this movie is, perhaps, when every actor plays dead straight concerning the detective work presented by Professor Hilbert. By the process of deduction and elimination, Professor Hilbert tried to discover the type of book Crick is used as a character. His main concern was whether the book is a comedy or tragedy. He was also interested in discovering how this fiction book could eventually intervene and control Crick’s own life and death. Professor Hilbert was not only a literary historian but also an astute critic, a fact that made him blend well with his role. Besides, he is the lifeguard appointed by the faculty at the university’s swimming pool. He is accustomed to reading scholarly works as he watches over swimmers at the university’s swimming pool. Hilbert is ever ready with his convincing literary allusions that perfectly match every situation. Eventually, Professor Hilbert helps Professor Hilbert. He raised several interesting question during his interaction with Crick (Bellour and Constance 102).
The movie tried to determine whether life is more important than literature. This is revealed through characters such as Professor Hilbert and Crick whose lives mostly revolved around literature. Another significant question that emerged throughout the movie concerns the responsibilities of writers in the creation of their characters and influences of the readers. It comes out clear that the fate of characters cannot be decided not until writers commit their final thought to a paper. Furthermore, it becomes apparently clear that the intervention of writers could easily result in the ruining of potential book masterwork. It can be conclude from the movie that the writer, to a larger extent, determines the fictive fate of his or her characters. This consistently intriguing and funny picture goes chuckles throughput the movie. However, in the last moments, the movie abandons the dichotomy that existed between comedy and tragedy (Manvell 78).
The movie also discusses some issues concerning death and life. As widely observed by French dramatist, Jean Anouilh, death is always waiting at the end of the ride. Before you truly feel your heart and see the earth, be aware that death is waiting at the end of the ride. The movie truly confirms these sentiments by Jean Anouilh. Even though it is imaginative in nature, the movie is acted to offer a chance for viewers to consider several things concerning death and life. The movie poses an important question as to whether the life of human beings is tragedy or comedy. This is a viewpoint that has thrilled many people in the industry. More significantly, it considers this view, a roadblock that often comes in during the creative process. However, some of the major issues of death and life as presented in this movie are not completely addressed (Clews and Michael 65).
Most interestingly, the movie in its entirety presents a viewpoint of how love can transform human behaviors. This is actually expressed through the love life of Harold and Maggie Gyllenhall. From the movie, it turns out that love is so powerful that it can, within a twinkle of an eye, transforms human character, and sends them on a completely new and fresh path. This is evidenced through the transformation of Harold’s life. Harold was the most boring character in the movie, but that was later changed for better after meeting Maggie Gyllenhall. This movie foretells that love transforms our life when we least expect of it. The movie is also directed on a fine eye to fantasy and whimsy. This actually helped make it more interesting and engaging. Forster directs this movie to provide viewers with plenty of opportunities to get into the shoes of every character as they undergo some major changes in their life (Film Review 34).
As noted earlier, Crick experienced his first breakthrough when he met Professor Hilbert. The professor instructed him that for him to overcome, he must discern whether he is living a life of comedy or tragedy. With these remarks, he made a decision that yielded breakthrough. The question can be made personal to very person by asking for your choice. Is your life a tragedy or a comedy? That is the most important question that every viewer should personally answer. After spending some time with Professor Hilbert, Crick decides to pick up a very definite idea about his life when answering this question. In the most awkward manner, he starts complicating his relationship with his new founder lover, Maggie Gyllenhaal. At first, Maggie was not able to connect with Crick because he stood for everything that she resented. This created a huge contrast between her and Crick.Perhaps, the moviemaker was interested in letting us understand that we only need a feast of sweetness to begin a journey of seeing our life as a comedy (Gallagher 12).
The finale of the movie “Stranger than Fiction” is spiritual delight that let us discover our own life. It can be concluded that the filmmakers wanted human beings to consider death as a phenomenon that opens the door of loving. The movie directs individuals to love the world in all ways that are actually beyond human imaginations. This may sound unrealistic, but it is possible. The writer could be more interested in letting love drive and rule the world. In general, “Stranger than Fiction” is an engaging comedy that revolves around many issues directly affecting human life. It heartily touches various issues concerning of life of human beings as well as death. It is a powerful movie that is carried by appealing and string performances by starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Will Ferrell, and Emma Thompson amongst others. This movie is very peculiar because it discusses unique and unexplored themes in the film and art industry. The kind of story presented in this movie draws repeated viewing from movie lovers. Lastly, the central gimmicks of this movie if full of several potential holes that require a little more time to explain. Nonetheless, that is the beauty of this movie (Tucker and Priscilla 66).
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