It's not like I try to find metaphors in mainstream films.Okay, maybe I do.
But some of them just jump out at me. Like when I saw Lady in the Water. The metaphors just mobbed me right and left. I tried to just watch the nice little fairy tale, but it was useless. All I could see was how the metaphor either worked or it didn't. It's kinda like solving a puzzle.
You wouldn't think I'd get attacked by a metaphor during a Will Ferrell movie, but I did. Nuts, ain't it?
Tonight, Bo took me to see Stranger Than Fiction with the aforementioned Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Dustin Hoffman. I was simply expecting the regular funniness of Ferrell, my favorite Elf. And, in many ways, it was.
But in other ways, it wasn't.
I seem to be more prone to attacks by religious metaphors than any. STF was no exception. I couldn't help seeing the Messianic symbols: Emma Thompson as God (Ha! Can you imagine that?!?); Dustin Hoffman as John the Baptist, complete with prophecies and water baptism (he was the volunteer lifeguard at his academic center), and Will Ferrell as the Messiah character, knowing that he will die, asking--begging, even--that this cup would pass by him, yet in the end accepting that he must sacrifice his life to save another.
What can I say? It's not my fault. It's like a strange, uninvited gift. :-/
It didn't help that Emma Thompson spoke the line (and I paraphrase), "Here's a man who knows that he's going to die and has the power to stop it, yet he chooses not to. Isn't that the kind of guy you want to keep around?"
The movie kept me entertained, with the quirky cinematography, Will Ferrell's funniness, the intriguing plotline and Emma Thompson's role as a slightly touched author in conflict with herself and her main character. There were some flaws in the logic, some decent-sized plot-holes, but it was, for the most part, well-written.
I have no idea if the writers really intended the Messiah metaphor, and you probably won't see it at all.
But if you do, let me know. You may have that uninvited gift, too. Maybe we can form a club or something.
I give the movie four stars. ****
