Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
Whole Wide World/first kiss between Harold and Ana
“It was a really awful day. I know, I made sure of it. So pick up the cookie, dip it in the milk, and eat it.” ~ Ana Pascal
Another alternative reality favorite of mine that is about writing and a writer, about a character that has been manifested (possibly) by a writer, and the hazy line between truth and fiction that exists, at least in the mind of a writer. I love absolutely everything about this film, the writing, the characters, the unique love story, the flawed beauty in all of it, and everyone in it.
The question of what is real and what is fiction is one that I have thrown about in my mind a lot, especially recently, not that I believe a writer could ever create a living, breathing person from writing them, but I do believe that while a writer writes the characters being created do become something very close to real. I think this may be, in part, because everything we write, as writers, comes from ourselves, and those in our lives, even if said characters are a mix-up, mash-up of more than one person, or even just a scratched surface of feelings that people bring to us.
I love the very real, yet rather unlikely, love that happens between Harold and Ana. It is so palpable to see how two very different people can come together and bring out the best in each other, compliment each other, and become something beautiful together. I suppose it is a romantic thing to believe in, but I do.
The “flours” scene, when Harold confesses to Ana that he wants her.
I also have had quite a crush on Maggie Gyllenhaal in this film ever since first seeing her play Ana Pascal, in this film.
Whole Wide World :: Wreckless Eric
The high art of film has captured the brilliant moments of literary minds and their processes in countless adaptations of the lives of our favorite authors. You can read my own Top 20 Greatest Movies of All Time about Writers at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2013/06/top-20-greatest-movies-of-all-time.html