Stranger Than Fiction Research Paper

Stranger Than Fiction, an Appraisal Stranger Than Fiction is an outstandingly brilliant film. It is an alluring photoplay with engaging, prepossessing characters. You will find yourself speculating the outcome, without realizing it and being drawn into the conflicts, comic drama, and fantasy, so profoundly, that you feel as if you are right there in the film yourself. The film has such an aspiring storyline and a quick-witted script, that you become astounded at the brilliance of it all. It all starts off with a book author, Karen Eiffel, (Played by Emma Thompson) with a common case of writer's block, an IRS agent, Harold Crick, (Will Ferrell) with a repetitive, boring life, and a wristwatch which guides his everyday life. Harold Crick was your ordinary IRS agent. He was neat and organized, stuck to a very calculated routine, was mathematically competent, and, like a lot of people, he was scared to get out of his comfort zone. Harold woke up at the time he always did, but as Harold started getting ready for work, he noticed a voice in his head
narrating his actions. It followed him throughout the day. Harrold started becoming annoyed, aggravated, and concerned. He then seeks council from Dr. Mittag-Leffler (Linda Hunt), who then determines he is imagining things. Eager to get to the bottom of this, he then seeks help from literature professor, Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman). The professor then, by process of elimination, proceeds to pin down the author that is narrating in Harold Crick’s head. During this process, he has to decide if the narration is a comedy or a tragedy. But Professor Hilbert made a big mistake. He decided that Harold's life was a comedy, not a tragedy, and crossed off Karen Eiffel as a suspect, because she only wrote about tragedies, which always resulted in the main character's death. As the search for the narrator continues, Harold Crick precedes his job as an IRS agent. When he goes to audit a tax return at a bakery, he proceeds inside only to have a strange encounter with Anna Paskel (Maggie Gyllenhaal). As he goes throughout the rest of the day, he can’t stop thinking about her. Still exacerbated by the narrator's voice in his head, he continues his search for the author. As his affection for Anna Paskel grows, so does the narrator’s tactics. The author narrates that Harold Crick will soon die. This puts Harold on edge. During an encounter with the professor, he heard the narrator's voice on the television. The professor then goes on to describe how the narrator is Karen Eiffel, who kills her main characters in her books. As Harold searches desperately for Karen Eiffel, he learns of her plans to kill him in her new book. Karen is faced with a burdensome decision. She has come up with a brilliantly pulchritudinous death, for her character Harold Crick. After immensely contemplating keeping Harold alive or killing him, she makes a decision. Stranger Than Fiction , directed by Marc Forster and written by Zach Helm, is a profoundly brilliant comical drama, which will have you biting your nails, laughing, and crying.
The actors casting was fitting for the traits of the characters. Maggie Gyllenhaal did an outstanding job playing the baker Anna Paskel. Emma Thompson did a stupendous job playing the madly creative mind of Karen Eiffel. It was hard to process that the comically famous actor, Will Ferrell, played the role of the shy, quiet, repetitive character of Harold Crick. Yet, he did a tremendous job, showing that he is an extremely accomplished actor and proving to us all, that he can grasp us just as well emotionally, as humorously. The script is brilliantly laid out, in a way that makes you think, but not too much. This film has the whole package deal, suspense, sci-fi, romance, and comedy. This is a must see film that will never cease to disappoint
you.