TAX agent Harold Crick (Ferrell) is hearing voices in his head.

One in particular nags away -that of a narrator, a woman describing everything that happens and is going to happen to him.

No-one would blame him for thinking he's gone mad as, no matter how hard he tries, he can't stop her talking. When she declares that Harold is going to die shortly, he decides drastic action is called for and determines to trace the woman.

The voice turns out to belong to Karen Eiffel (Thompson), an author struggling to complete her latest novel in which she plans to kill off her main character - who happens to be called Harold Crick.

It's all very much in the same you-cannot-be-serious mould as Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, all the better for being played with totally straight faces by the cast.

The biggest surprise is that the usually-zany Ferrell refrains from mugging and is actually rather good in a serious role as the confused Harold Crick, who seeks help from literary theorist (Hoffman) in changing the end of Eiffel's book - and thus saving his own life.

Thompson is in fine form as the novelist with writer's block who finds herself engaged in a battle between life and art in this offbeat comedy.
Stars: Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Queen Latifah
Running time: 113 mins Rating: Three stars