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SHORE

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

Storytelling in Film:

Stranger Than Fiction

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Summary

Stranger than Fiction is a 2006Americandramedyfilm. The film is directed by Marc

Forster, written by Zach Helm, and stars Will Ferrell,Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin

Hoffman, Queen Latifah, and Emma Thompson.Columbia Pictures distributed thefilm.

Harold Crick is an auditorfor the Internal Revenue Service and an obsessive time-

saver, living his life via the timing of his watch. He is given the job to audit an

intentionally tax-delinquent baker, Ana Pascal. On the same day, he begins hearing

the voice of a woman that is omnisciently narrating the events in his life, but he is

unable to communicate with the voice. On his way home, Harold's watch stops

working and he resets it using the time given by a bystander; the voice narrates that

this "seemingly innocuous act" will result in his "imminent death". Harold turns first

to apsychiatrist who attributes the voice to schizophrenia. Harold listens to herconclusion without giving importance to it; to his insistence on what to do if it were

not the case, she suggests Harold turn to a literary expert. Harold visits Jules Hilbert, a

university professor, and relates his story; Jules first comes to the same conclusion as

the psychiatrist but then recognizes aspects of a literary work in Harold's story ("little

did he know"), and encourages him to help identify the author, first by determining if

the work is a comedy or a tragedy.

As Harold proceeds to audit Ana, the two begin to fall for each other, but when

Harold refuses to accept cookies that Ana made for him as a possible bribe, Ana

angrily tells him to leave, making Harold believe the story is a tragedy. Harold spends

the next day at home to try to control his own destinybut his apartment is partiallydemolished by a wrecking crew mistaking the building for an abandoned one. Harold

reveals these facts to Jules, who believes Harold should accept that he will die, and to

live life to the fullest. Harold takes this to heart, taking an extended vacation from

work, learning to play the guitar, and starting to see Ana on a regular basis, helping

her to avoid tax issues by claiming charitable offerings. Harold believes he may have

mistaken his story and now reassesses it as a comedy. When he returns to Jules with

this revelation, Harold inadvertently identifies the voice in his head from a television

interview as noted author Karen Eiffel; Jules, a long-time fan of Karen's works,

reveals that the main character always dies in her books to date.

Harold is able to find Karen through tax records, and learns that she is presentlystruggling from writer's blockin how to kill off the character of Harold Crick in her

latest book, "Death and Taxes", envisioning numerous ways involving a child on a

bicycle and a city bus, while her publisher has send an assistant, Penny, to make sure

the book gets completed. When she learns that Harold is a real person and has

experienced everything she's written, she becomes horrified to consider all of her

previous books resulted in the deaths of real people. She struggles to come up with an

ending, but manages to draft a handwritten ending. Penny suggests Harold read the

book and the drafted ending to get his opinion. Harold is unable to bring himself to

read it and gives the manuscript to Jules to review. Jules reads it and tells Harold that

the manuscript is a masterpiece, his written death integral to its genius. Harold reads

the manuscript himself, and comes to the same conclusion and returns the manuscriptto Karen, accepting his death. He spends one last night with Ana.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_in_filmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramedyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Forsterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Forsterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zach_Helmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Ferrellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggie_Gyllenhaalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dustin_Hoffmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dustin_Hoffmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Latifahhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Thompsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Pictureshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auditorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_Revenue_Servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_resistancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnisciencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychiatristhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophreniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Briberyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destinyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charity_(practice)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writer's_blockhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_in_filmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramedyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Forsterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Forsterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zach_Helmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Ferrellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggie_Gyllenhaalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dustin_Hoffmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dustin_Hoffmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Latifahhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Thompsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Pictureshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auditorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_Revenue_Servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_resistancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnisciencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychiatristhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophreniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Briberyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destinyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charity_(practice)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writer's_block

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The next day, Harold prepares to return to work after his vacation despite Karen's

voice narrating the fateful day as she types up her planned ending. Due to getting the

time from the stranger earlier, Harold's watch is three minutes too fast, and he

happens to be able to save a child on a bicycle from being run over by a bus, though

he himself is hit by the bus. Karen attempts to write Harold's death, but is unable to do

so, and instead claims the watch was the character that died, and that fragments of thewatch helped to block an artery in Harold's body after the collision, preventing him

from bleeding to death. Harold wakes up to find himself in a hospital, alive though in

traction and with several broken bones, with Ana by his side to help him recover.

When Jules reads Karen's final manuscript, he notes that the story is weaker without

Harold's death. Karen admits the flaw and that she could not come to kill someone

who was aware of his impending death, and plans to rewrite the work to meet the new

ending.

Source: Wikipedia.org

Narrative StructureOmniscient Narrator:narrator who is able to know, see, and tell all,including the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters.Karen Eiffel the omniscient narrator of the story is revealed as an eccentric author in

the process of writing a tragedy about our protagonist Harold Crick.

Metafiction or The breaking-of-the-fourth-wall:Metafiction is a termgiven to fictional writing which self-consciously and systematically draws attention to

its status as an artefact in order to pose questions about the relationship between

fiction and reality.Patricia WaughThe film breaks the fourth-wall, the invisible wall between the audience and the

action, and draws attention to the film as a work of fiction.

E.g. Harold breaks out of the narrative to seek out his creator the omniscient narrator,

Karen Eiffel, who we come to understand is not the films narrator but the author of a

novel. Harold is made aware of his future predicament, through Eiffels voice-over,

Little did he know that this simple seemingly innocuous act would result in his

imminent death.

Story-within-a-story:On one level the film tells the story of Harold Crick and his attempts to break free ofthe confines of his methodical existence. On another level it tells the story of our

narrator Karen Eiffel and her struggles with writers block.

This story-within-a-story framework serves to explore the relationship between an

artist (author Karen Eiffel) and their work (Harold Cricks life).

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Playing with Genre

A genre is a category of literature with an identifiable form and purpose. The

conventions of a particular genre are the implied rules

which writers and directors follow, and which readers andviewers come to expect..

The film plays with the genres of tragedy and comedy. The

producer of the film Lindsay Doran suggests, The best

comedy always has pain underneath it.

Tragedy and ComedyKaren Eiffel is writing a tragedy and as such there are a

number of conventions which she must employ in order to

meet the audiences expectations, you have to die it is absolutely

no good unless you die at the end. Harold Crick is caught up in an archetypal

tragedy, Professor Hilbert states, Tragedy you die. Comedy you get hitched. In an

effort to thwart the impending tragedy Professor Hilbert suggests that he do nothing to

move the plot forward.

The film challenges the conventions of the genre at times and often switches between

tragedy and comedy. In traditional forms of tragedy the protagonist has a fatal flaw

which leads to their downfall, in Harold Cricks case it is his obsessive punctuality,

On Wednesday Harold Cricks wristwatch changed everything. Ironically however,

it is his wristwatch which saves him- diverging from the genre of tragedy.

CharactersHarold Crick: The uniformity and geometrical shapes of the buildings and the IRSoffice reflect the obsessive and methodical nature of Harold. The drab dcor of his

home and clothing are exchanged later in the film for a striking red jumper which

reflects Harolds growth and change.

Ana Pascal: The antithesis of Harold, her role in the film is to shake Harold out ofhis controlled existence. Her bakery and apartment are colourful and cluttered in

contrast to Harolds.

Karen Eiffel: Eiffels living space consists of three adjoining rooms with starkwhite walls, representing the blank canvas that confronts the author and also

suggests a sense of emptiness in her life. The only colour and movement in her

life is when she steps into the world of her novel, where she has complete control.

Professor Hilbert: In contrast to Eiffel his office is cluttered with books andfurnishing in keeping with his position as a lecturer in Literature. His office is his

domain, like Pascal he is comfortable in his own space, removing his jacket and

shoes.

When the voice in Harolds head intones,

Little does Harold know that soon he will

die, Harold (Will Ferrell) cries out in anger

and confusion: Die? Why must I die?

Copyright 2006 Columbia Pictures

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Motifs and Symbols

Mathematical names and references:The last names of many characters canbe connected to the last names of famous modern scientists and mathematicians:

Francis Crick, James Watson, Gustave Eiffel, David Hilbert,Nicholas Mercator,Blaise Pascal, Arthur Cayley, and Gsta Mittag-Leffler. Penny Escher's name can be

connected to M. C. Escher, a Dutch graphic artist whose work was heavily influenced

by mathematics. The Kroenecker bus, which hits Harold, can be attributed to the

famous mathematician of the same name, Leopold Kronecker. Karen Eiffel's

publisher, Banneker Press, can be attributed to mathematician and clockmaker

Benjamin Banneker. Other small mathematics and science references are slipped in,

such as a mention of the corner ofEuclid Street and Born Avenue.

Time Motif: At the beginning of the film we are told, This is a story about HaroldCrick and his wristwatch. The motif of time, represented by Harolds wristwatch,

raises a number of concerns.

The rigidity of time-keeping. Working and living according to schedules

and our ability to break free from the confines of time and create our own

destinies.

Running out of time inevitability of death and Harolds attempts to

effectively stop the clock.

Questions about how individuals spend our time. Quality of life vs.

quantity.

Fate and destiny. Warning signals/ alarms (e.g. beeps when the child falls

off his bike before the approaching bus)

Jesus Christ: the film can be read as an allegory of the life of Jesus Christ in that itfeatures the motifs of sacrifice, life and death. Harold unwillingly becomes the

Saviour figure as it is only when, like Jesus Christ, that he faces imminent death and

sacrifices his life for another that he is allowed to live.

Guitar: The guitar is a symbol of change in Harolds life. It is significant that thesong Harold learns to play is a punk rock classic, Whole Wide Worldas it represents

Harolds growing sense of individualism and appeals to Anas sense of social

conscience.

Other Techniques

GUI (Graphical User Interface) - The use of computer generated graphicshelps to develop the character of Harold Crick, who is given relatively few lines in the

script. The use of GUI highlights his nerdish and obsessive-compulsive nature,

heightened by the voice-over, Harold Crick was a man of infinite numbers, endless

calculations and remarkably few words.

Themes:

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The film raises a number of issues, including:

Carpe Diem (seizing life and the inevitability of death)

Relationship between subject and creator

Great Literature vs. Individuals life

Extent to which an individual has control over their

own life and the extent to which it is influenced by

outside forces.

Study Questions: How would you describe Harold Crick in the beginning of the story? What

were his dreams? How did he feel about his life?

Why do you think he had such rigid routines? Do you think they kept him

from living his life fully? How did Harold change throughout the film?

Did he change for the better? Do we have any control over our lives? What influence do outside forces

have on us? How can we tell if they are good or bad, for us or against us?

What does this movie say about death? Note the footage of animal

predators on Harold's TV, and the comments made by Hilbert. Can death

ever be meaningful

Where is "meaning" found? In ourselves? In something outside of us

(other people, God, etc.)? Is it entirely one or the other, or can we

negotiate our meaning with these outside sources? Could Harold have

done something different at the end of his story, or did he need to do what

Kay had written for him to do? Does Harold learn by studying (that is, auditing) Ana? Does Kay learn by

studying (that is, writing about) Harold? How are their situations similar,

or different?

What spiritual elements did you see in this film? In what ways does this

story resemble a parable?

Was Harold real or merely fiction? Did he become more real as the story

progressed?

In what way was Eiffel, the author, god-like? In what ways was she not?

How did meeting Eiffel change Harold? How does having a personal

relationship with your Creator change you? Was Harolds story a comedy or a tragedy?

Eiffel had a greater purpose for Harold. Was it just? How is Harold Christ-

like? How is like every person?

Sources:Wikipedia.org

Mark Rafidi, Isuue 52, Screen Education

Gregg Tubbs, UMC.org

Harold (Will Ferrell) begins to see Ana(Maggie Gyllenhaal) as a person

rather than simply the subject of aledger sheet. Indifference becomesaffection, and affection blossoms intolove. Copyright 2006 ColumbiaPictures