Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) goes to work every day in the city of New York. He does not take vacation. He eats alone. He lives alone. He is a seemingly average IRS agent living a life of personal solitude. Yet, for the most part, this life serves him well – until the day a woman’s voice begins to follow him. Stalking him, the voice narrates his everyday movements, and uses better diction to boot.

The reason? Crick is the main character in Karen Eiffel’s (Academy Award-Winner Emma Thompson) newest book, “Death and Taxes.” She is completely unaware her fictional character actually exists, which is comforting, since she intends to kill him. The only thing keeping Crick alive is that Eiffel has writer’s block.

But that is about to change. Enter Penny Escher (Queen Latifah), a writer’s assistant, hired by the publishers to make sure Eiffel finishes her novel on time. To finish the novel, she must kill Crick. How much time does he really have?

Directed by Marc Forster (“Finding Neverland,” “Monster’s Ball”), this is a wonderful movie supported by the actors’ fine performances. Let me just start off by saying that Thompson is amazing. Truly wonderful. As the conflicted and recluse author of the novel, we see a woman who doesn’t just write characters, but rather is utterly consumed with their lives. Even in her need to kill Crick, she will not simply choose the first idea that comes to mind; she must find the perfect death for her perfect character. I can’t express enough how brilliant Thompson is – you’ll just have to watch the movie to understand.

To the rest. Ferrell takes another stab at a less comic role and succeeds for the most part. Much of his low-key Crick is comical, and I do wonder: Is it funny in general, or do we just associate Will Ferrell with comedy and therefore see humor in his work? I don’t know the answer. Either way, I cannot see someone else playing Crick as well as him, and that is a great compliment.

Dustin Hoffman is also in scene-stealing form as a professor of English to whom Crick goes in hopes of understanding this voice that is stalking him. In every scene, Hoffman is multitasking, most frequently with food. And it’s hysterical. Then we have Ana Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a coffee shop owner whom Crick is auditing. She has a speech about cookies so magnificent it could be compared to Virginia Madsen’s wine speech in “Sideways.” Bravo!

The directing and writing share one great quality: They’re so real. I know that sounds silly, but everything in the film becomes believable because of them. The actors, while beautiful people, are not coated in makeup. Queen Latifah has a scar at the top of her head I’ve never noticed before; I assume it was always covered by makeup. Emma Thompson bears her wrinkles with pride, and Maggie Gyllenhaal genuinely looks like the girl next door. Literally. She’s pretty, but you could imagine meeting her in your everyday life.

And while the story is elaborate, the dialogue and the characters are so low-key, so normal. This quality of realism, despite its being a fictional movie, makes the film that much more enticing. It asks you to take a leap of faith, and after that just ride the wave, and you won’t be disappointed.

I hope you go see this movie. I cannot communicate to you how this film moved me. It is one of those films that, once you’ve experienced the journey, you find hope, you find yourself believing in the goodness of people. Even if I told you the ending, which I won’t, it will not affect you unless you take that journey yourself. And that, my friends, is stranger than fiction.

Overall: A delightful story about the importance of finding yourself, delivered by powerhouse talents, especially in Emma Thompson and Maggie Gyllenhaal.