Discovering Life in Marc Forster's Stranger Than Fiction
Discovering Life In Marc Forster's Stranger than Fiction
Marc Forster's Stranger than Fiction employs an intriguing screenplay and a diverse cast in order to explore the meaning and purpose of living life. In the film, IRS auditor Harold Crick lives a straightforward, strict routine type of life, all coordinated by Harold's simple wrist watch. However, on one particular Wednesday, Harold's watch malfunctions and needs to be reset. After asking a bystander for the time, Harold enters it into his watch not knowing that it is three minutes fast, which prompts the omniscient narrator in Harold's head to state "little did he know that this simple, seemingly innocuous act would result in his imminent death". At this point in the film, Harold is finally forced to break from his daily routine, his mold, and venture out to save his life. In one especially noteworthy scene, Harold is invited into Ana Pascal's home, which highlights one of his steps to fulfilling his life. Harold's act of intimacy toward Ms. Pascal, and how he conducts himself during this scene, represents one of the many purposes and meanings of life.
This scene can be looked at as an in depth version of the scene prior, which basically has the narrator explain how Harold is changing his life. Through a visual montage of life fulfilling activities such as learning the guitar, which is particularly what Harold wanted to do, and other experiences such as daily social interaction, the narrator helps setup the next scene in which Harold displays something he never has, which is the urge of desire and want.
The scene begins with a medium shot of Ms. Pascal locking up her bake shop for the night. The camera is housed inside the bake shop with the the viewer looking out of the windows while the camera tracks right following Ms. Pascal. This shot helps to reveal the bright colors of her shop, which comes in to play later on. The next series of shots consist of a medium long shot of Harold jogging over to
Marc Forster's Stranger than Fiction employs an intriguing screenplay and a diverse cast in order to explore the meaning and purpose of living life. In the film, IRS auditor Harold Crick lives a straightforward, strict routine type of life, all coordinated by Harold's simple wrist watch. However, on one particular Wednesday, Harold's watch malfunctions and needs to be reset. After asking a bystander for the time, Harold enters it into his watch not knowing that it is three minutes fast, which prompts the omniscient narrator in Harold's head to state "little did he know that this simple, seemingly innocuous act would result in his imminent death". At this point in the film, Harold is finally forced to break from his daily routine, his mold, and venture out to save his life. In one especially noteworthy scene, Harold is invited into Ana Pascal's home, which highlights one of his steps to fulfilling his life. Harold's act of intimacy toward Ms. Pascal, and how he conducts himself during this scene, represents one of the many purposes and meanings of life.
This scene can be looked at as an in depth version of the scene prior, which basically has the narrator explain how Harold is changing his life. Through a visual montage of life fulfilling activities such as learning the guitar, which is particularly what Harold wanted to do, and other experiences such as daily social interaction, the narrator helps setup the next scene in which Harold displays something he never has, which is the urge of desire and want.
The scene begins with a medium shot of Ms. Pascal locking up her bake shop for the night. The camera is housed inside the bake shop with the the viewer looking out of the windows while the camera tracks right following Ms. Pascal. This shot helps to reveal the bright colors of her shop, which comes in to play later on. The next series of shots consist of a medium long shot of Harold jogging over to