Stranger Than Fiction

***1/2 Stars

Stranger than fiction, with a stellar cast, deeply thoughtful direction, ads wonders to a screenplay of already Oscar caliber.

This is a tale of one man named Harold Crick (Will Farrell, in a perfectly executed performance), who lives a dull existence of solitude. Karen Effiel (a perfectly cast Emma Thompson) is the author creating this story in her mind. What she doesn't know is that Harold Crick actually exists. He is an IRS agent who begins to hear Karen's voice as she narrates his life with perfection. Harold however finds trouble when he hears that Karen plans to kill him. Events throughout the film seem to be leading directly towards his death. Harold insists the help of a literary professor named Jules Hilbert (the always inspiring Dustin Hoffman) to find out what is happening and ends up changing things about his life. He tells Harold to try living life instead of counting brush strokes and ceiling tiles. He begins to fall for one of his IRS clients, Ana Pascal (an easily lovable Maggie Gyllenhaal). Ana is a government-hating bakery owner who at first shuns Harold, but then sees a soft side she cannot resist. The scenes between Ana and Harold are charming, loving, and beautifully written.

Screenwriter Zach Helm delivers a story of awesome wit and surprising power. Hear we see these characters that are so easy to love that we constantly wonder how the Shakespearean like ending will occur. The movie indubitably heads towards this, however when the moment arrives, the story takes an asymmetrical turn. At first, it is an overrun cliché. But once explained, you see an empathetic reason behind it. The movie may be stranger than fiction, but the message is easily coherent within our hearts. It reminds us of a life of innocence and how living life to the fullest brings out the best of the human verve. This is one of the year’s best films.