Designer Movie: Stranger than Fiction

Every once in a while, I see a movie that excites me as a designer. The opening titles for Panic Room, combined with that film’s amazing camera work. Fight Club, with it’s “IKEA catalog” sequences and David Carson-like typography.

Last night, I saw another such film, Stranger Than Fiction. The great typography and motion graphics first started my design pulse racing, with a great opening sequence.

Harold Crick (Will Farrell) is an IRS agent with a boring life. He has an amazing gift for numbers, and counts everything in his day, starting with the number of times he brushes his teeth each morning.

Type onscreen gives us visual clues to what Crick is thinking as he knots his tie …

… and counts the individual dots on the knot.

It’s a great sequence visually, with simple, bold graphics that really complement the photography. The motion is extremely elegant, with precise movements orchestrated to synch with what Farrell is doing. Hats off to whoever is responsible.

Beyond that, the film has a great 1960s/70s Kodachrome look to it, with rich mustardy yellows and dirty greens. Modernist Architecture is everywhere, and extreme object macro close-ups remind me of my own corkboard. I haven’t heard a lot about this film critically, but I’d highly recommend it. The web site is pretty cool, too.