Just in case you haven’t tumbled on to the fact, I’m quite the fan of semi-surreal movies that come with a touch of quirky fantasy.
If you’re the sort who finds it impossible to suspend disbelief for two hours straight, then this is certainly not the movie for you- Ramona Depares
Past favourites from the genre have included Big Fish, a Tim Burton product I’ve already written about here; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (a Jim Carrey/Kate Winslet triumph about one man’s fight to stop his ex from eliminating all memories about him by means of an experimental procedure); Punch Drunk Love (starring Adam Sandler, whose childish humour I usually dislike but who excels in this highly disturbing, oddly humorous love story); Adaptation (the story of a depressive scriptwriter); I Love You Phillip Morris (another unlikely Jim Carrey triumph that could be re-baptised How to be a Top Con-Artist and a Perfect Lover); My Super Ex-Girlfriend (women the world over will want to do an Uma Thurman on all the mean exes in their lives) and many, many others.
I’ve given you enough leads for your Christmas season vegging in front of the sofa I guess, so on to more recent discoveries. By recent, I don’t mean just released, of course, but simply films I’ve only found time to enjoy in these past weeks.
The first one is Stranger Than Fiction, and I start my description with a warning: if you’re the sort who finds it impossible to suspend disbelief for two hours straight, then this is certainly not the movie for you. An income tax auditor (Will Ferrell) wakes up to suddenly find a constant voice-over accompanying his every move. It doesn’t take him too long to figure out that it’s almost as though someone were reading his life out loud.
Rather than deciding that a visit to the shrink is in order, our anti-hero leaps to the obvious conclusion: he has somehow become a character in a book. Unlikely as it is, it turns out that this conclusion is correct.
The movie proceeds to portray a series of totally surreal scenarios (the part where he meets up with the author who is the ‘writer of his life’ is particularly impressive).
The beauty of the movie is that it doesn’t try to pass itself off for something that it is not – this is not a fantasy/magical movie in the traditional sense of the word.
Instead, it explores pretty mundane life situations such as new love, work issues and so forth. The mundane is then interspersed with snippets of the unorthodox situation where you know your life depends on the stroke of someone’s pen.
The film rushes on to a touching, yet beautifully redeeming climax that makes all those ‘where on earth is this leading to’ moments (and yes, there are a couple of times when the plot seems to lose its point somewhat) worth their while.
The other movie of the week is very similar in its premise but totally different in its vibe. Ruby Sparks was only released last July but has already attracted a cult following. Although not an independent production, it does have the indie vibe to it and one of the things I particularly liked about it is the fact that the exquisitely stunning Zoe Kazan, who plays the title role of Ruby, also wrote the script.
The story revolves around an author who can’t seem to find inspiration – or love – after a one-hit-wonder publication that brands him as a genius.
Desperate to beat writer’s block and on the advice of his shrink, he conjures a girl, Ruby Sparks, and starts writing about her. One fine morning he wakes up to find her making omelettes in his kitchen.
From then on it’s all downhill, but in the most enchanting and captivating manner. What at first looks very much like an idyllic love story, with both protagonists absolutely nuts about each other, suddenly turns dark when Ruby starts developing a mind of her own.
A mind that doesn’t necessarily include bowing to every of her boyfriend’s wishes. Only too predictably, the latter gets to his typewriter again, with some very poignant results that, despite the ridiculousness of the topic, reveal a lot about the thin line between love and hate.
rdepares@timesofmalta.com