The Plot Thus Far

The 2006 film Stranger than Fiction is one of my absolute favorites for a variety of reasons. I hold it in similar regard to the 2001 Kate and Leopold. Both are romantic comedies/comedic dramas with supernatural elements. And my favorite thing about both as is pertains to the supernatural elements is that those elements never get in the way of the overall story or characters. They’re used to instigate and guide the characters but the story doesn’t get bogged down in unraveling all the secrets of the universe. The characters are allowed to develop and grow without either film turning into some CG-filled spectacle. Both movies are subdued and grounded.

In the case of Stranger than Fiction, the premise centers on Harold Crick (played by Will Ferrell), an IRS agent living a sterile life until–without warning–he starts to hear a woman’s voice in his head: narrating his daily routine with clever prose and accurate descriptions. Harold is unsettled by this development but it doesn’t significantly interfere with his life until he hears the narrator stating “[…] little did Harold know that this simple, seemingly innocuous act would ultimately result in his death.”

Harold is–understandably–concerned about this discovery. He searches for answers, eventually receiving help from Professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman). Together, they confirm that Harold is the subject of some literary story and that by narrowing down what kind of story Harold is in–and the author–they can figure out why Harold is going to die and how to stop it.

All of this pushes Harold into living a more fulfilling life, where before he would spend most of his time alone as a simple-minded man. And the most significant development is his relationship with Ana Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a bakery owner Harold was assigned to audit due to her refusing to pay a percentage of her taxes.

Harold and Ana’s relationship starts very rocky. Ana prejudges Harold due to his employment while Harold is immediately attracted to Ana but his meek personality keeps him from making any overt gesture. But as they keep meeting, Ana realizes more and more that she’s misjudged Harold. For example, she develops pity for him: discovering things like him never having a homemade cookie because his mother never baked. And even after their relationship crosses over into overtly romantic, Ana continues to be astonished by Harold’s altruistic and wholesome behavior in contrast to the stiff exterior he unintentionally presents.

Not to spoil too much, but far later in the film–when the two are a very serious couple–Harold suffers a serious injury and when he reveals to Ana that he was hurt because he saved a boy’s life at his own expense, Ana is still shocked. It’s not because she thinks little of Harold’s character, but because such selfless behavior is something she wouldn’t normally expect, especially by someone who works for her arch nemeses: the government.

But the moment when Harold and Ana’s relationship crosses over from negative into positive is the titular “I want you” scene.

As He Understands It

This scene is so smooth in how the moods–especially Ana’s–shift. The first phase comes with Harold showing up, late at night, and surprising Ana with a mysterious cardboard-box-held gift. Both characters exchange repeated “Hi”s but for different reasons. Harold keeps saying hi because he’s socially awkward and a bit exhausted from going across town to bring Ana the gift. Ana is repeating herself because she’s surprised at Harold showing up. And she’s immediately bewildered by his gesture of kindness/affection. And she doesn’t even know what the gift is yet.

There’s this perfect transition from awe to spite in Gyllenhaal’s performance at the 0:20 mark. Harold tells her he wanted to bring her the mystery gift, and she looks at the box of paper bags with a soft “Really…?” And as soon as Harold confirms this, Ana shifts into taunting Harold.

The last time the characters interacted, Ana offered an olive branch. She opened up about her college years and how that led to her career as a baker. And when Harold admitted to never having eaten a non-corporate cookie, Ana gave him a cookie and some milk for free. She even offered him more free cookies and Harold insisted on paying for them. This stung Ana, making her feel stupid because Harold refused to accept the gift: refusing to accept Ana’s unconditional gesture of kindness. Harold realizes and acknowledges his mistake but the damage is already done.

As a result, when Harold is standing in front of Ana–with his own price-removed present–Ana throws his refusal of her gift back in his face. “So… you can’t accept gifts but you can give them? That seems a little inconsistent, doesn’t it, Mr. Crick? […] I’ll tell you what, I’ll purchase them!”

Ana masks it in a playful tone but it’s clear she’s being somewhat venomous. She even goes to get her wallet out as she asks what the bags even are… to which Harold answers “Flours.”

Harold could have gotten Ana any kind of gift. And flours may not have taken much thinking when her job as a baker is so prominent. But the fact that Harold made the effort to get her something personal showed that he understands Ana. He didn’t get her “flowers”, which could be seen as a generic gesture. He got her “flours”, which is such a precious and clever pun of a spin on the traditional gift.

Ana has to ask “What?” and the look on her face at the 0:48 mark says it all. She’s dumbfounded, and she realizes just how far Harold would have had to travel this late at night to bring them to her. Given that he was breathing heavily when he caught her, it’s clear he ran at least some distance. I’ve always taken this as her feeling guilty for being so reactive to Harold. It very much reminds me of the dynamic between the protagonists of the 1998 film You’ve Got Mail, the female lead always being ready to antagonize until it becomes clear that their male counterpart isn’t the monster they assumed.

Harold says “Miss Pascal, I’ve been odd… and I know I’ve been odd. And… I want you.”

The key word is “WANT” not “LOVE”. For years, I hated that this was the word Harold uses. I thought it was a rather cynical way of presenting romance, as though the director believed words like “love” were immature or unrealistic. But I eventually realized that this speaks a lot more to who Harold is as a person.

Harold, the IRS agent, with almost no friends, who eats alone, had a never-baking mother, and led an uneventful life up until now, would absolutely say “want” instead of “love”. Everything we’re told about Harold shows that he is emotionally stunted, introverted, and inexperienced with people. When he says “I want you”, he’s not being cynical. He’s being honest. Because Harold doesn’t understand love, nor has he experienced much of it in his life. He absolutely feels romantic love for Ana Pascal but his brain doesn’t make those kinds of connections.

We see this with other scenes where Harold is confronted by anything unorthodox or fantastical. Anything that sounds silly confounds him, and it takes coaxing for him to engage with it. He’s not connected to life in the personal/intimate way. And yet, he’s self-aware enough to recognize his lack of experience and understanding of things like love.

When Harold says “I know I’ve been odd”, he isn’t necessarily recognizing that he’s an odd person generally. He’s acknowledging that he’s acting outside of his expected parameters. He’s acting different to how Ana Pascal expects a stiff IRS agent to act. It’s ironic because normally it would be considered odd if a traditionally social and well-adjusted person were to act how Harold did before learning of his upcoming death.

Ever since Harold met Ana, he knew he was attracted to her. And despite knowing she hated him for much of their time, he never expressed any disdain toward her. Harold becomes increasingly worried about his eventual death and the life he’s wasted for 30+ years. And Ana is the most tantalizing, enticing thing he’s encountered. She’s someone he wants to know better and win over. He wants her to like him. He wants to experience a closeness with someone before he runs out of time. And while it’s clearly romantic, it isn’t necessarily even a romantic relationship Harold needs as much as some kind of strong, close bond.

Ana’s response reinforces the strangeness of Harold’s wording. “You want me?” And Harold’s reply is both funny and clear. “In no uncertain terms.”

Ana interrogates Harold a bit, bringing up a fraternization confliction between an auditor and the auditee. And Harold confirms this to be true, “but I don’t care.”

“Why?”

“Because I want you.”

The puppy dog face Ferrell puts on is priceless. And it works. Ana has Harold carry the flours to her abode. She even invites him inside, and Harold is intimidated. He didn’t expect to get this far and now he’s scared about taking this to the next level.

Ana gives Harold a second chance here. This is her recognizing Harold attempting to reconcile after the cookie incident. So she prompts him, “Listen, Mr. Crick… I think I like you, and before I do anything rash… I’d like to make sure. I’d like you to come up.”

Harold responds with, “I’d be honored.”

Ana is being very mature here. She’s recognizing her misjudging of Harold, his attempt to fix things after he wronged her with the cookies, and her own attraction toward him. She doesn’t just pity Harold. She is drawn to his sensitive and caring personality. So she’s giving Harold the chance to prove his desire to fix things with a similar gesture to the cookies. She’s being vulnerable with him by inviting him into her place. And Harold doesn’t fail the test this time.

The following scene is quite good as well, with Ana completely falling for Harold as he plays a specific song on a guitar. I could detail that part too but I encourage people to watch the movie as a whole. I could see myself talking about many of the film’s aspects in future posts. I didn’t even mention my favorite actor–Emma Thompson–acting as a nuanced antagonist.

I love this scene especially because it characterizes Ana and Harold so well. Without watching the rest of the film, you can generally understand who these characters are. You don’t need to know about the supernatural elements. You understand these people and why they care about each other. And the efficient, organic use of dialogue says so much.