Stranger Than Fiction--am I the only one?

[leftofthedial]

I thought it was great.

Terrific idea and very thought provoking.

[leftofthedial]

1. I guess so.

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

2. My friends and I all liked it.

[leftofthedial]

3. what saves us?

what is fate?

what is cause and what is effect?

what is that voice I keep hearing . . .



I'm gonna go get a wristwatch first thing tomorrow.

[Radio_Lady]

4. Left of the Dial, I reviewed this movie a couple of weeks ago.

Last time I looked, the post had been archived. We liked the movie very much. In case anyone cares wants to read it, the review is here:

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Radio_Lady/77

At www.metacritic.com, it has received mostly favorable reviews.

http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/strangerthanfiction

It's an interesting and compelling little movie, but a lot of reviewers didn't particularly care for it, at least the ones I talked to.

Thanks for your comments.

[leftofthedial]

8. thanks!

I love your reviews, but I seem to miss most of them.

I'm no film critic, but I am schooled in literature and a bit in philosophy. I expected this movie to be extremely lightweight and to pander to the shallow movie-going marketplace.

But the more I think about this movie and ponder its basic theme and it's "happy" ending, the more I find to chew on.

Sure, it plays a trick, without which it would collapse like a failed souffle. But is that not true of all art?

Due to my own peculiar current circumstances, I'm already pondering the point of it all. Maybe I was uniquely predisposed to play along with it and indulge the "narrator" in a way that others aren't. This little film is not the greatest achievement in the history of Cinema, but it sure gives reality--and art--an enjoyable, provocative twist.

[Radio_Lady]

12. I hope this movie gets some notice. These artful little movies just get trampled in the

holiday, end-of-the-year rush. Happens all the time... and it's been this way for all the years I've been associated with films and film reviewing.

[leftofthedial]

17. I will insist that a large number of my friends see it

I just love it when I leave the theater (or concert hall, or bar, or wherever) and feel elevated by my experience there.

[Shine]

5. I loved it and would even consider seeing it again.

which I don't say often about movies.

I thought it was deep and meaningful, on a lot of different levels. I was touched by it.

:hi:

[Radio_Lady]

6. Hi, Shine. I feel the same way. Did you also have the same reaction

to the Jim Carrey movie, 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' from 2004? Did you happen to see that one?

[Shine]

7. Yes, I saw that movie, but no, I didn't like "Eternal Sunshine", frankly.

it was a bit too convuluted for me and I couldn't get into it. Just my opinion, of course. Some people really liked it, but I wasn't terribly enamored.

"Stranger than Fiction" reminded me of "Amelie", in some bizarre way. That same sense of fate and things happening on some random, yet ordered, schedule.

:hi: RL! I'm glad you're back. :hug:

[leftofthedial]

9. when I unwind it backwards, nothing about it is "random"

except that it was artifice, which one assumes came about "randomly"

It was a bit convoluted I suppose.

I second that Radio Lady. You are a treasure and despite our stupidity and insensitivity, we need good hearts--and heads--around here! :hi:




BTW--I'm talking about Stranger, not Eternal Sunshine.

[Radio_Lady]

11. What a delightful message, Left of the Dial! I'll treasure your words...

and I putcha on my Buddy List...

I have no idea what I'll do with my buddy list, but you're there.

Wishing you all the very best for the coming holiday season,

Radio_Lady

[leftofthedial]

10. me too. (SPOILER!!)

I saw it because I thought the premise was amusing and because my 13-year-old daughter really wanted to see it.

In recent years, I have become deeply cynical, but when I ask "what saved Harold Crick?" I come up with:

1. his wristwatch--but something made that happen

2. the benevolent intervention of the third-person omniscient narrator (the "author")--but I'm an atheist. No supreme being will "save" me.

3. his own willingness to save the kid even though he knows for a fact he'll die doing it.

And really. Aren't those the kinds of guys you want to keep around?

:hi:

[Shine]

15. Hmmm...What saved Harold Crick? (spoiler)

I'm just free-thinking, here...he is willing to "die" and is at peace with his impending demise because he knows he must...as we ALL must, someday. That's pretty deep stuff. He comes to that place because he has experienced Love and the heartfelt connection with another soul. He has been awakened to live fully.

But, the author is truly not living fully, she's really messed up: Cynical, cut-off from her feelings of connection to anybody and anything, contemplative of Death in a very cold, impassioned manner. Think about it: It's literally her "job" to kill her characters off. She seems sad, unfulfilled, not at Peace or centered in any way...she's experiencing a ten year writer's block, which is metaphoric for her own internal blocking of the Life Force.

Her connection to Harold Crick becomes a life saving gesture for BOTH of them, ultimately. What saves Harold Crick is the consciousness they both transcend to, through the course of their experiences.

My two cents. I really should see that movie again.

[leftofthedial]

16. the irony is (I think) SPOILERS

that the author only truly discovers how to live herself once she lets her character discover how to live

and once she lets him find life (love, passion, self-awareness, curiosity, risk-taking . . .), how can she possibly kill him


I thought Emma Thomspon was utterly exquisite in this movie. I think I finally discovered "my type."



and we haven't even brought up the issue of self determination.


great comments BTW . . .

[Shine]

20. Spoiler discussion: I agree with your comments.

Yes, they each had to let go, to "die" to their old selves, in order to move forward.

Emma was amazing in this movie, it's true.

Hmmm...self-determination. Which came first: the Author or the Character?? :shrug:

[Radio_Lady]

22. Your critique is excellent. If I were grading this as a paper in a film class, I'd give YOU an A+!

[Bill McBlueState]

13. I loved it!

But I'm in love with Maggie Gyllenhaal, so I would have enjoyed the movie either way. :loveya:

It was one that makes you think, though.

[leftofthedial]

18. she was terrific.

there was no doubt that Crick fell in love with her

who wouldn't?

[Radio_Lady]

23. I thought she was fantastic in this movie -- and also with James Spader in

"Secretary." Saw that movie about three years ago in Seattle, and we both thought it was very interesting -- and offbeat. Still getting very favorable reviews on the Internet Movie Database.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274812/

[MysticalChicken]

14. No!

I loved it.

Also, possibly best soundtrack ever.

[leftofthedial]

19. excellent soundtrack

excellent work by the soundtrack composers Britt Daniel and Brian Reitzell and by Max Richter ("The Blue Notebooks")

and Brian Reitzell was also the music supervisor

I might go see the movie again, just to pay more attention to the music.

[Pushed To The Left]

21. Just got home from seeing it!

Great movie! I won't give any spoilers since some DUers may not have seen it yet. Will Ferrell did an excellent job and proves that he can do dramatic roles effectively. Maggie Gyllenhall was very believable as her character as well. I think we'll see more of her in the future!

I can safely give it "2 Thumbs Up" since I saw it with my sister and she really enjoyed it as well!