2006 – NZ Film Freak

Stranger-than-Fiction-will-ferrell

Director: Marc Forster
Writer: Zach Helm
Released: 2006
Starring: Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Queen Latifah and Emma Thompson
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I. Love. This. Movie.

I first watched this in Media Studies class to study the narrative structure, and ever since then I have been able to watch it numerous times and never get bored… I know the entire script almost off by heart now.

Stranger Than Fiction is about a man – Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) – who can hear a voice narrating every event in his life, but it becomes sinister when the narrator casually mentions his approaching death.

Narrator: Little did he know that this simple, seemingly innocuous act would result in his imminent death.

Harold Crick now has to try and find the author to get her to stop writing before she completely writes him out of existence.

haroldcrick

I guess the first awesome thing about this film is the cast. Will Ferrell was never really an actor that I thought too much of until his versatility was shown in this comedy drama. He plays a very mundane and dry person, yet Ferrell’s subtle comedic value turns his character into a convincing yet entertaining person as he discovers his purpose in life is more than just being an IRS agent.

Emmathompson

Emma Thompson shows her insane abilities as a struggling author, yet without becoming a drag. She makes her character, Kay, so comedic yet so believable – as with all of her characters that she has ever played. You totally understand where she’s coming from. She has a lot of great come backs with no hesitation or concern for other’s emotional feelings.

Penny: And I suppose you smoked all these cigarettes?
Kay: No, they came pre-smoked.
Penny: Yeah, they said you were funny.

stranger_than_fiction-dustin

I can’t go without mentioning Dustin Hoffman. His acting is SO accurate for his character – spot on! He acts as Harold’s mentor and does so in full confidence that Harold is telling him the truth, and takes it very seriously. Professor Hilbert has many little habits that I would expect to be accurate for his career and character, such as excessive coffee consumption and loud eating.

Harold: You have to understand that this isn’t a philosophy or a literary theory or a story to me. It’s my life.
Professor Jules Hilbert: Absolutely. So just go make it the one you’ve always wanted.

Maggie Gyllenhaal as Ana Pascal

My favourite character is the baker; Ana Pascal played by Maggie Gyllenhaal. She is a rebellious yet respectable woman who brings Harold to life. I wanted to own a cookie store after I watched Stranger Than Fiction. She’s just such a cool character with strong morals.

Ana: Mr. Crick, it was a really awful day. I know, I made sure of it. So pick up the cookie, dip it in the milk, and eat it.

This movie is not a light chick-flick at all (even though it has my favourite romance storyline of all time). It is about identity and real life – the characters are not stereotyped or perfect by any stretch.

It’s about feeling out of control of your life, but with determination, focus and the right people, you can change your life to make it what you want it to be. You only have your life’s outline written for you; but you can always change it if you really want to.

The music is amazing – it goes so well with every scene – and I am most definitely going to put this on my Christmas list… *Hint hint*. My favourite song is Whole Wide World by Wreckless Eric and Bottles and Bones by Califone.

The structure is perfect, and once it gets going you realise how emotionally attached to the characters you are. Because they have won you over with their subtle comedy, and lines that you will end up trying to find the perfect conversation to drop them into. My favourite line is by Ana: “You. Miscreant.”

I haven’t been able to drop that into a casual convo as of yet though.

If you enjoy Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, you are likely to enjoy this trippy story. However, it is a tragic comedy that everyone will enjoy.

Jodie’s rating: 9/10

Director: Jeremy Brock
Writer: Jeremy Brock
Released: 2006
Featuring: Julie Walters, Rupert Grint, Laura Linney
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Okay, so this film has been HUGELY underrated. Despite being aware that everybody has their right to their own opinion, I, as New Zealand’s official Freak of Film, would like to say:

YOU ARE ALL INCORRECT.

Driving Lessons is a slower-than-usual paced film with a script as philosophical as Forrest Gump, but with humour as dry as Napoleon Dynamite (in some parts).

It’s about a boy named Ben (the gorgeous Rupert Grint… He’s so cool… *sigh*) who is born into a devoted Christian family, which becomes an oppressive and controlled lifestyle that batters Ben down into an emotionally-absent teenager.

Until he meets Evie.

This film has my favourite actress, Julie Walters playing an eccentric elderly woman named Evie who has been “…married and divorced three times. Once to an actor, once to an English Lord and once to a Californian” and is far from the ‘saved’ friends Ben usually acquaints himself with.

She shows him the ropes of life – with the moral being more-or-less that you can learn about how the world should be and the theory of how life works, but you don’t know a thing until you LIVE it.

She has had such a colourful life and is so liberal, which influences Ben to shake the strong reliance his controlling mother (Laura Linney) has over him.

I LOVE Walter’s interpretation of Evie who is a filthy-mouthed but very warm woman who anybody would wish was their nan in real life!

Ben’s mother, Laura Marshall, was played incredibly well by Linney who showed the character to be an insecure and controlling woman who appears almost like a puppeteer behind the mask of a wholesome church-goer. Laura Linney does such a great job, you begin to dislike the character very quickly!

The religious undertone isn’t something that should put non-religious watchers off, as it is an approach that is refreshing and open-minded. The story does very well keeping a non-bias view of beliefs, that do not suffocate the plot with pre-set ideas.

I have got the soundtrack which I absolutely enjoy! However, a few more like Ben Fold’s song “Jesusland” would have been cool.

I can’t help wondering what a TOTALLY different film this would have been if the old woman was an old man and the young boy was a young girl. Even if the plot remained the same… Just found that peculiar…

This is a film that is deep enough to watch repeatedly, yet, light enough for a social viewing. The humour is fantastic and Rupert Grint shows his versatility. A must see!

Jodie’s rating: 8/10

Fave line:

“Evie, you’re in the middle of nowhere.”
“Then I shall cling to the edge of somewhere!”