Variety critic Todd McCarthy has this to say about “Stranger than Fiction,” which debued at the Toronto Film Festival this week. Film stars Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, BSR IT girl Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Dustin Hoffman.
The oft-examined intersections of reality and fantasy get a thorough workout in “Stranger Than Fiction.” Bound to be compared to the work of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, who has set the standard for this sort of intricate cinematic mischief over the past several years, this first comedy from the unpredictable, hot-and-cold director Marc Forster sometimes becomes too self-consciously clever, and it doesn’t entirely resolve its own central dilemma. But it remains inventive and funny to the end, features fine performances from Will Ferrell and especially Emma Thompson, and offers enough to enjoy and dispute to make it a good B.O. attraction with long-distance potential for smart-skewing audiences.
Here’s the full review.