Stranger Than Fiction turns 20 this week, and it still stands apart as a 2006 fantasy romance comedy drama with one of the most unusual loglines of its year: an IRS agent starts hearing a woman narrating his life as it happens. Because the production, casting, filming, music and reception are so well documented, the joy is in the details.
A French classic was in the mix
Stranger than Fiction is directed by Marc Forster, produced by Lindsay Doran and written by Zach Helm. The film was partially inspired by Playtime by Jacques Tati, and its cast brings together Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah and Emma Thompson.
A stopped watch starts the story
Harold Crick is an IRS agent living a solitary life of strictly scheduled routine in Chicago. On the day he is assigned to audit an intentionally tax-delinquent baker named Ana Pascal, he begins hearing the voice of a woman narrating his life. When his wristwatch stops working and he resets it using the time from a bystander, the voice narrates that this action will eventually result in his death.
A demolition mistake made fate feel real
Literature professor Jules Hilbert tells Harold to spend the day at home doing nothing. A demolition crew goes to the wrong building and destroys his living room. Jules takes that improbable occurrence as proof that Harold is no longer in control of his own life, and advises him to enjoy the time he has left.
An audit turned into a love story
Harold is assigned to audit Ana Pascal, develops an attraction to her, and then rejects her gift of cookies because it could be considered a bribe. He takes that as a sign that he is in a tragedy. Later he takes time off from work, learns to play guitar, moves in with his co-worker Dave, and starts dating Ana; when she falls in love with him, he re-evaluates his story as a comedy.
The narrator had writer’s block over his death
While meeting with Jules, Harold sees a television interview with author Karen Eiffel and recognizes her voice as his narrator’s. Karen has been struggling with writer’s block because she cannot figure out how to kill Harold Crick, but she has a breakthrough and begins writing again. Harold phones her and stuns her by accurately recounting her book to her.
Harold trusted a professor with the ending
Karen explains she has outlined the conclusion but has not yet typed it in full. Her assistant Penny recommends Harold read the outline, but he cannot bring himself to do so and gives it to Jules. Jules deems it Karen’s masterpiece, says Harold’s death is integral, and consoles him that this death will hold a deeper meaning; Harold later reads the outline and tells Karen the death she has written for him is beautiful and that he accepts it.
Indie rock built the sound
The music includes original scores by Britt Daniel and Brian Reitzell, as well as a mix of indie rock songs from various artists including Spoon. The soundtrack also includes an original recording of “Whole Wide World”, the song Harold plays for Ana, by Wreckless Eric.
Critics saw Ferrell’s dramatic range
On Rotten Tomatoes, 73% of 176 critics’ reviews are positive, and the consensus says the film features a subdued performance from Will Ferrell that contributes mightily to its quirky, mind-bending effect. Roger Ebert gave it 3.5 stars out of 4 and said Ferrell has dramatic gifts to equal his comedic talent, while Todd McCarthy in Variety praised Ferrell’s performance as nuanced.
Which Stranger Than Fiction detail is your favourite? Tell us in the comments.
Facts from Wikipedia: Stranger than Fiction (2006 film), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Film images from TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.