Marc Forster is one of those directors that slips under the radar. I have now seen three films by him, but after seeing the director's credit for each, I thought "who's Marc Forster?"
Marc Forster directed had previously directed Monster's Ball, which I liked but felt was a little overrated (some critics called it the best film of 2001), and the very moving Finding Neverland. Neverland was one of only two times I have ever seen someone cry in a movie theatre (the other was The Return of the King). It's odd that someone who has made such obviously compelling films has stayed mostly unkown to the cineaste community. Perhaps it is because his three most famous movies are so different, they hardly seem to be the work of the same man.
Out of three, I would have to say that Stranger Than Fiction is probably the weakest. It is a comedy that is only moderatly funny, and falters when it tries to venture into Woody Allen-like philisophical territoy towards the end, mostly because its ideas are fairly pedestrian. It is always interesting and is extreamly well acted, but the high concept idea, which everyone knows from the trailer, is a little better than its execution.
If you've seen the trailer, you know that the movie is about a supposedly ordinary IRS agent named Harold Crick (Will Ferral) notices one day that his life is being narrated- a mysterois voice announces in poetic prose what he's just done and the thoughts that run through his head. It turns out the voice belongs to Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson), a writer who is working on her latest book, a book whose main character is an IRS agent named Harold Crick.
What you wouldn't know from the trailer is that much of the film is yet another version of American Beauty where a man with a boring job learns that its important be social, follow your heart, quit your job (or at least take a leave of abscensce) and of course, have sex. This one is a little more tolerable because its less preachy that usual and the woman he has sex with (Maggie Gyllenhall) is both adorable and hot. You can bake cookies for me anytime, baby!
Does the movie cheat at the end? Well, sort of, but at least it attempts to give us some kind of reason for the cheat, instead of just going to a (spolier, skip to next paragraph) feel-good ending for the sake of positive preview cards.
The movie's real achievement is that it's another hit for Will Ferral. Before this movie, I considerd Ferral the most talented comedian of his generation. With Stranger Than Fiction he proves that he can also do dramatic parts with ease, like Bill Murry.
This is a good film, and it is vastly superior to most of the comedies made in Hollywood today. However, when the truly brillant Borat is also playing at the theatre, this is clearly a second-choice kind of movie, which is still better than most of what's out there at the moment.
Stranger Than Fiction (2006)