Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson) is a reclusive author with writer's block. She just can't work out how to kill off her latest character, the reserved and regimented IRS auditor Harold Crick (Will Ferrell, pictured). What she doesn't know is that Harold is a real, live person, who can hear her voice narrating his every move and contemplating his impending death. Naturally, Harold finds this all more than a little worrying.
Ferrell has become synonymous with fratpack comedies such as Old School and Anchorman, but here he shows he can be understated with a subtle and witty performance. There's great support from Maggie Gyllenhaal as the tattooed, rebellious, cookie-baking love interest and Dustin Hoffman as a kooky literary expert.
Stranger Than Fiction is a Film programme that first aired in 2006 and has been classified a 12 certificate.
