Let's just get Charlie Kaufman out of the way now. Many have compared Stranger Than Fiction to Kaufman's work because the main character finds his life being plotted by a narrator, whose voice he hears describing the things he's about to do, like die. It is fair to say that fans of Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine... will be drawn to it, although it's warmer, fuzzier and more conventional than Kaufman's work.

And it is existential, but also it's a feelgood romance about taking control of our lives; it could almost be a Nora Ephron film, but writer Zach Helm and director Marc Forster's execution ensures it's as innovative as it is old-fashioned.