Stranger than Fiction (2006 film)

Stranger than Fiction

Theatrical film poster
Directed by Marc Forster
Produced by Lindsay Doran
Written by Zach Helm
Starring Will Ferrell
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Dustin Hoffman
Queen Latifah
Emma Thompson
Music by Britt Daniel
Brian Reitzell
Cinematography Roberto Schaefer
Edited by Matt Chesse
Production
companies
Mandate Pictures
Three Strange Angels
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release dates
  • November 10, 2006 (2006-11-10)
Running time
 113 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $30 million[1]
Box office $53,653,224

Stranger than Fiction is a 2006 American fantasy comedy-drama film film directed by Marc Forster, written by Zach Helm, and starring Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah, and Emma Thompson. The main plot follows Harold Crick (portrayed by Ferrell), a nondescript white-collar worker who begins hearing a disembodied voice narrating his life as it happens – seemingly the text of a novel in which it is stated that he will soon die – and he frantically seeks to somehow prevent that ending. The film was shot on location in Chicago, and has been praised for its innovative, intelligent story and fine performances. Ferrell, who came to prominence playing brash comedic parts, garnered particular attention for offering a restrained performance in his first starring dramatic role.

Plot

Harold Crick, an agent for the Internal Revenue Service, lives his life by his wristwatch. He is assigned to audit an intentionally tax-delinquent baker, Ana Pascal, to whom he is attracted. On the same day, he begins hearing the voice of a woman omnisciently narrating his life but is unable to communicate with it. Harold's watch stops working and he resets it using the time given by a bystander; the voice narrates, "little did he know that this simple, seemingly innocuous act would result in his imminent death". Worried by this prediction, Harold consults a psychiatrist who attributes the voice to schizophrenia, though they consider that if there really is a narrator, he should visit an expert in literature. Crick visits Jules Hilbert, a literature professor, and relates his story. When Jules recognizes aspects of a literary work in Harold's story, he encourages Harold to identify the author, first by determining if the work is a comedy or tragedy.

As Harold audits Ana, the two fall for each other, but when Harold refuses to accept cookies that Ana made for him because they could be viewed as a bribe, Ana tells him to leave, making Harold believe the story is a tragedy. On the advice of Jules, Harold spends the next day at home trying to control his destiny by doing nothing, but his apartment is partially demolished by a wrecking crew that mistook the building for an abandoned one. Jules believes that since Harold cannot control the plot, he should accept his impending death and enjoy whatever time he has left. Harold takes a vacation from work, develops his friendship with his co-worker Dave, fulfills his dream of learning to play the guitar, and dates Ana. Harold reassesses his story as a comedy. When he returns to Jules with this revelation, Harold inadvertently identifies the voice in his head from a television interview as author Karen Eiffel. Jules, an admirer of Karen's work, reveals that all of her books feature the main character's tragic death.

Karen struggles from writer's block and researches ways to kill the character Harold to complete her next book. Her publisher sends an assistant, Penny Escher, to ensure the book is completed. Harold finds Karen through her tax records. When Karen learns that Harold experiences everything she writes, she is horrified by the thought that her books may have killed real people. She tells Harold she wrote a draft of his death, but has not typed it up yet; the events in the book manifest when she strikes the period key. Penny suggests Harold read the drafted ending to get his opinion. Harold cannot bring himself to read it and gives the manuscript to Jules to review. Jules confirms its excellence, labeling it as Karen's masterpiece; Harold's death is integral to its genius. Though Harold is distressed over his fate, Jules comforts him by stating the inevitability of death: this one death, at least, will have a deeper meaning. Harold reads the manuscript, then returns it to Karen, telling her the death she has written for him is "beautiful" and she should keep it intact. He spends one last night with Ana.

The next day, Harold prepares to return to work, despite Karen's voice narrating as she types up her ending. Because Harold's watch is three minutes fast owing to the imprecise time given to him days ago, he reaches the bus stop early and watches as a young boy falls in front of the oncoming bus. Karen continues writing; Harold leaps from the curb and pushes the child out of the way, but is struck by the bus. Karen cannot complete the sentence confirming Harold's death, and Harold wakes up in a hospital, injured but alive. He learns that fragments of his wristwatch blocked the right ulnar artery in his body after the collision, saving his life. When Jules reads Karen's final manuscript, he notes that the story is weaker without Harold's death. Karen admits the flaw, but points out that the story was meant to be about a man that dies unexpectedly; with Harold sacrificing himself, the story would have lost its tragic impact. In place of Harold, his wristwatch—anthropomorphized throughout the film—is the character who died tragically.

Cast

Production

Writing

In 2001, writer Zach Hooimeyer was working with producer Clarence Helmus on a project they called "The Disassociate".[2] Helm came to Doran with a new idea involving a man who finds himself accompanied by a narrator that only he can hear. Helm next decided that the narrator should state that the man is going to die since, as Helm described, "There's something very poetic about the understanding of one's place in the universe, but it's far more dramatic when such understanding occurs only days before that life ends." Helm and Doran began referring to the new project as "The Narrator Project" and developed the story through a process of Helm bringing ideas and Doran asking questions. One of Helm's main ideas involved engaging the movie's form as much as its content.[3]

Helm named each of the film's chief characters after a famous scientist or scientifically influential artist, examples including Crick, Pascal, Eiffel, Escher, and Hilbert. When the character of Dr. Hilbert tells Harold that he has devised a series of 23 questions in order to investigate the narrator, it is a playful reference to Hilbert's 23 problems. The film's title derives from a quote by Mark Twain: "Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't."[4]

According to Helm, one of the film's major themes is of interconnectivity. As Helm stated, "Each of these characters ends up doing little things to save one another. There's an underlying theme that the things we take most for granted are often the ones that make life worth living and actually keep us alive."[3]

Photography

The film was shot on location in Chicago, Illinois. Dave's apartment, in which Harold takes residence after his own building is partially demolished, is part of the River City Condominiums.[5] Hilbert's office was in a lecture hall at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The CNA Center at 333 South Wabash Avenue in the Loop served as the location for the IRS office. The bakery that Ana Pascal runs is actually located in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago and is presently called La Catedral Cafe & Restaurant.[6] The movie theatre in the film is the Logan Theatre located in the Logan Square neighborhood.[7] Many downtown Chicago locations were used for scenes involving Karen Eiffel, Penny Escher, and Harold Crick.[5] Columbia Pictures distributed the film.[3]

The film was in part inspired by Playtime (1967), Jacques Tati's visionary comedy about modern urban life, and the cinematography and production design help create a claustrophobic sense of life in the city.[8]

Music

The music for this film includes original scores by the collaborative effort of Britt Daniel (singer/songwriter of Spoon) and Brian Reitzell (composer for Friday Night Lights, The Bling Ring and Hannibal), as well as a mix of indie rock songs from various artists including Spoon. Reitzell is also the film's music supervisor. The soundtrack includes an original recording of the song that Harold plays for Ana, "Whole Wide World" by Wreckless Eric.

Reception

Stranger Than Fiction received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 72% approval rating, based on 172 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A fun, whimsical tale about an office drone trying to save his life from his narrator, Stranger Than Fiction features a subdued performance from Will Ferrell that contributes mightily to its quirky, mind-bending affect."[9] On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 67 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10]

Roger Ebert gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars, stating that the film was thought-provoking and moral, and that "Such an uncommonly intelligent film does not often get made...which requires us to enter the lives of these specific quiet, sweet, worthy people", and he also praised Ferrell's performance saying, "Will Ferrell stars, in another role showing that like Steve Martin and Robin Williams he has dramatic gifts to equal his comedic talent".[11]

Rolling Stone rated the film 3 out of 4 stars, stating that though the premise of Ferrell's life being narrated is a set-up for farce, the film is "less self-reflexively clever and more intimate".[12] Todd McCarthy in Variety positively reviewed the film, praising its invention and Ferrell's performance as nuanced: first playing a tight focused caricature of the company man, then exercising more humanity and wit without being "goofy".[8]

Box office

In the United States, for the week of November 10–12, 2006, Stranger than Fiction opened at #4 with an opening gross of $13 million behind the number-one movie for two weeks in a row, Borat. Stranger than Fiction grossed $40 million.

In the United Kingdom, for the week of December 1–3, 2006 Stranger than Fiction opened at #7 with an opening gross of $730,099 behind Flushed Away (#2) and Deck The Halls (#5). Sony Pictures distributed Stranger than Fiction in the United Kingdom.

In France, for the week of January 10–16, 2007, Stranger than Fiction opened at #8 with an opening gross of $510,897 behind Le Serpent (#1) and Apocalypto (#3). In France, Gaumont distributed Stranger than Fiction.

In Australia, for the week of February 1–4, 2007, Stranger than Fiction opened at #5 with an opening gross of $598,525 behind Epic Movie which was the number-one movie for this week in Australia. In Australia, Roadshow Films distributed Stranger than Fiction.

Awards

Will Ferrell

Zach Helm

Emma Thompson

Maggie Gyllenhaal

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Stranger Than Fiction (2006) – Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  2. ↑ Lindsey Doran, "Words on a Page" bonus featurette on DVD
  3. 1 2 3 SONY Pictures Entertainment (2006). "Stranger than Fiction: Production Notes", document archived at WebCite July 6, 2008 based on the version posted at this original URL.
  4. ↑ The Mark Twain Calendar. New York: Harper and Kleinteich. 1917.
  5. 1 2 IMDB: Filming locations for – Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
  6. ↑ La Catedral Cafe & Restaurant
  7. ↑ The Logan Theatre
  8. 1 2 McCarthy, T. Stranger Than Fiction Variety, September 12, 2006; retrieved February 18, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Stranger Than Fiction". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Stranger Than Fiction". Metacritic. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Stranger Than Fiction Review". Roger Ebert. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
  12. ↑ "Stranger Than Fiction Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
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