Will Ferrell was never in my top movie actor list but when he plated Harold Crick in Stranger than Fiction, he leveled up a notch and became exceptional in my eyes. This is, at least to me, his best film I've ever seen.
When 2007 kicked off, we were bombarded by all these "must see" movies and Stranger than Fiction is not in that list - at least not in mine. I think it kinda surprised my beau that I was so nudging him that we catch this movie. It delighted him that I did.
The story revolves around Harold Crick, who is so damn good at what he does as an IRS agent. To me, he was like a walking calculator but other people in the story coined him as a taxman and they hated him. I already sensed certain OC-ness when he counts the minor details of his everyday life - like his toothbrush strokes, steps and how his life seems to depend so much on his wristwatch. I am OC too, you know. Though I don't count things the way he did, I almost always pay attention to the minor details in my everyday life. From the windows and doors of my room, the way I wipe my desk to how I want my shoes to sound like as I strut.
All this routine and stuff seemed normal for Harold until he starts to hear a woman's voice narrating a story... of his life. This woman turns out to be Karen, a novelist who is writing a story about Harold and is in the know on how she could kill her story's character. Harold went nuts when he heard the narrator say, "Little did he know that this simple seemingly innocuous act would result in his imminent death".
He sets out on a journey meeting people who can help him prevent his imminent death. He consulted a psychologist, I think, to help him with his woes. Then she advised him to see someone who is a literature geek to help him find out what kind of story he's in. This literature geek is Professor Jules Hilbert who served as his guide to figure out who the author of this book wherein Harold plays himself. I liked Professor Hilbert because at one point, he somewhat helped Harold better shape his questions or pointed him to the right directions. Brilliant.
It is here when Harold realized the little gems in his life - that people matters as well aside from his routine and wristwatch. He kind of fell in love to his "auditee", Ana Pascal who owns a bakery and challenged Harold so much that she made sure that his day will end up terribly. The moment Ana teaches Harold the kind of happiness that cookies and a glass of milk can bring is something that is so etched in me. Priceless.
I loved this movie to the last drop.
This is a moral tale about how we're connected to others, death and the strong ties between the writer, character and the story. This is one of the very few movies who is so good and intelligent - thought provoking at that.
I like how Karen Eiffel said it, "A story about a man who's unaware that he's about to die. If he knows he is going to die and chooses to die anyway, isn't that the kind of man you want to keep alive?"
When 2007 kicked off, we were bombarded by all these "must see" movies and Stranger than Fiction is not in that list - at least not in mine. I think it kinda surprised my beau that I was so nudging him that we catch this movie. It delighted him that I did.
The story revolves around Harold Crick, who is so damn good at what he does as an IRS agent. To me, he was like a walking calculator but other people in the story coined him as a taxman and they hated him. I already sensed certain OC-ness when he counts the minor details of his everyday life - like his toothbrush strokes, steps and how his life seems to depend so much on his wristwatch. I am OC too, you know. Though I don't count things the way he did, I almost always pay attention to the minor details in my everyday life. From the windows and doors of my room, the way I wipe my desk to how I want my shoes to sound like as I strut.
All this routine and stuff seemed normal for Harold until he starts to hear a woman's voice narrating a story... of his life. This woman turns out to be Karen, a novelist who is writing a story about Harold and is in the know on how she could kill her story's character. Harold went nuts when he heard the narrator say, "Little did he know that this simple seemingly innocuous act would result in his imminent death".
He sets out on a journey meeting people who can help him prevent his imminent death. He consulted a psychologist, I think, to help him with his woes. Then she advised him to see someone who is a literature geek to help him find out what kind of story he's in. This literature geek is Professor Jules Hilbert who served as his guide to figure out who the author of this book wherein Harold plays himself. I liked Professor Hilbert because at one point, he somewhat helped Harold better shape his questions or pointed him to the right directions. Brilliant.
It is here when Harold realized the little gems in his life - that people matters as well aside from his routine and wristwatch. He kind of fell in love to his "auditee", Ana Pascal who owns a bakery and challenged Harold so much that she made sure that his day will end up terribly. The moment Ana teaches Harold the kind of happiness that cookies and a glass of milk can bring is something that is so etched in me. Priceless.
I loved this movie to the last drop.
This is a moral tale about how we're connected to others, death and the strong ties between the writer, character and the story. This is one of the very few movies who is so good and intelligent - thought provoking at that.
I like how Karen Eiffel said it, "A story about a man who's unaware that he's about to die. If he knows he is going to die and chooses to die anyway, isn't that the kind of man you want to keep alive?"
