Review: Stranger Than Fiction

UK release date: 1st December

Following in the footsteps of such movies as Being John Malkovich and I Heart Huckabees, which treat their outrageous scenarios as more drama than comedy, comes Stranger than Fiction.

The loopy premise here is that mild-mannered tax inspector Will Ferrell begins to hear voices — well, actually just one voice, which seems to be narrating his life. A visit to a literature professor (Dustin Hoffman, as enjoyably tick-riddled as ever) reveals that the author of his story is Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson) and she is indeed in control of his destiny. The trouble is that all her novels end in the death of the lead character.

In less talented hands, this kind of forced intellectual whimsy can be deeply irritating, but with the understated direction of Finding Neverland‘s Marc Forster, the decidedly odd is perfectly believable. And Ferrell, like Bill Murray and Robin Williams, proves that comic actors reined in can give surprisingly affecting dramatic performances.

Radio Times rating:

***

UK cinema certificate 12A
Running time 112mins

Review by Adam Smith

News: Will Ferrell

The former Saturday Night Live star has, with this week’s Stranger Than Fiction, made yet another convincing stab at gaining recognition as one of the most interesting comedy actors currently working in Hollywood, after a series of relatively disappointing turns.

Next year will see just one Ferrell movie, the ice skating comedy Blades of Glory, following two rival Olympic skaters expelled from the games who find a loophole that might just see them able to get back in, while 2008 will see another Ferrell sport-s based outing with the basketball comedy Semi-Pro, in which Ferrell will co-star with Woody Harrelson.

Most promising for Ferrell fans, though, is likely to be Step Brothers – Ferrell co-writing with Talladega Nights and Anchorman director Adam McKay as well as starring in this broad comedy about two spoiled grown-ups, who – naturally – hate each other, who end up as step brothers when their aging parents decide to get hitched. Ferrell’s Talladega Nights co-star John C Reilly will co-star.

News: Emma Thompson

Brit favourite Thompson only has one movie in the pipeline at the moment: next summer’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, for which she will be returning as Professor Trelawney alongside pretty much every big-name British actor still alive. It’s surely only a matter of time before Michael Caine and Bob Hoskins crop up in the series – how many more have they got to go again?

News: Dustin Hoffman

The veteran star may well have been taking smaller roles in recent years, as in this week’s supporting turn in Stranger Than Fiction, but looks all set to return to the leading parts which should be his by right – he’s even talked about his desire to do sequels to his early hits The Graduate and Tootsie – though to what extent he was joking remains somewhat unclear, as he’s also recently said that he’d like to be the next James Bond…

Next up is Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, based on the novel by Patrick Süskind. Set in 18th century France, the film follows a young man with an extraordinary sense of smell who, having apprenticed himself to Hoffman’s master perfume-maker, embarks on a killing-spree in pursuit of the ultimate scent. It is set for release on Boxing Day.

Due in July 2007, Hoffman will take the title role in the entertainingly-named Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium. As the 243-year-old owner of the world’s most wonderful toy store hands over his business to his nervous manager, played by Natalie Portman, there may well be a fair few Charlie and the Chocolate Factory parallels. But, directed as it is by the writer of the distinctly unusual Stranger Than Fiction, there’s bound to be more to it than that…

Then, in 2008, Hoffman will try his hand at animated comedy, providing voice duties on two big-budget, all-star cast extravaganzas featuring – as seems to be the rule with CGI films these days – a bunch of oddball talking animals. First will come Kung-Fu Panda, alongside Angelina Jolie, Jack Black, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu and Ian McShane, and then The Tale of Despereaux, from Corpse Bride co-director Mike Johnson, alongside Robbie Coltrane, Kevin Kline, Christopher Lloyd, William H Macy, Tracey Ullman, Sigourney Weaver and Justin Long.

Hardly much that could land him another Oscar for the shelf, but still – not bad.

News: Marc Foster

German-born director Forster is making quite a name for himself, adding this week’s Stranger Than Fiction to an already impressive CV that includes the Oscar-nominated likes of Monster’s Ball and Finding Neverland.

He currently has three films in the works: the small-scale tale of an Afghan-American’s return to his former homeland, The Kite Runner, based on the bestselling novel by Khaled Hosseini, is due out in the UK in January 2008, and will feature little in the way of big stars – quite a change from working with the likes of Dustin Hoffman and Johnny Depp on recent movies.

He is also attached to direct 36, a remake of the 2004 French action flick, starring Daniel Auteuil and Gerard Depardieu, 36 Quai des Orfèvres. No casting news has yet emerged, but rumour has it that one Robert De Niro may be interested…

Finally, and from the sound of things pretty much guaranteed to bring in a few Oscar nods on its release late in 2007, is Dallas Buyer’s Club. Brad Pitt will star in absolutely classic Oscar-winning material, as an HIV sufferer who develops full-blown AIDS and is told to go home and die by mid-1980s medics who were unable to cope with the then new disease, but who instead hunts down potential life-prolonging drugs via the black market in a desperate attempt to find a cure.