25 Cult Movies You Must See Before You Die
20. Stranger Than Fiction
There are some in the movie business who make one great film, and spend the rest of their career failing to replicate that success. With Stranger Than Fiction, that disappointment is two-fold: director Marc Foster has since made boring political dramas, and screenwriter Zach Helm's only other film? Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium.
Thankfully, audiences can still sit down and watch the one time lightning struck for both of them. Stranger Than Fiction also heralds Will Ferrell's first proper dramatic role, as an auditor for the IRS whose life starts being narrated (by novelist Emma Thompson), who foreshadows his imminent death. Which does make him re-evalute his life somewhat.
Foster's usual directing technique gives way to a more stylised look, with Ferrell's regimented life reflected with on-screen graphics. Ferrell, love interest Maggie Gyllenhaal, Emma Thompson, her assistant Queen Latifah and Dustin Hoffman as a lecturer helping Ferrell find his “narrator” are all brilliant in a smart, affecting and warm drama.