11 April 2011

Movie Mondays: Stranger than Fiction

I just watched this movie with my parents this weekend and thought it was a really creative idea- I know a lot of people have probably already seen it but I think it's worth a shoutout. Also I'm going over to hang out with some friends in a few so I don't have time to think of something else to post about ;)
There are so many good actors in this film... and they all perform stunningly. The only thing that got me was seeing Will Ferrel play this semi-dramatic everyday-man role. Also, seeing him and Maggie Gyllenhaal kiss... i do not put them in the same league (or generation, really...) at all. Other than that though, I thought everyone was very impressive.

The film is about a man named Harold, who one day begins to hear a woman's voice narrating his life as it happens. It seems no one else can hear the voice, and so of course when he sees a psychologist she tells him he's schizophrenic. Harold decides to seek the help of a professor, instead, who begins helping him try to figure out who is narrating his life and why. Essentially, Harold begins to look at his life as a book, trying to determine if he is living a tragedy or a comedy, testing his free will, etc.

Meanwhile, Emma Thompson plays a successful writer who has gotten writers block while working on her most recent novel. She is trying to figure out how to kill her main character but just can't seem to think of something that will work. She spends her days at hospitals, watching bridges, and standing on the edge of her desk for inspiration.

Of course, eventually the stories intersect and the writer faces the moral dilemma of killing a character who in fact is a real person. I won't give away the ending, but I will say that it's very interesting. definitely a worthwhile movie to watch.

Here's a trailer:

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