It’s quite rare that a film can isolate such a unique quality or premise that it becomes a genius work of art, but director Craig Gillespie manages to do precisely that in the 2007 comedy-drama, “Lars and the Real Girl.” You probably have yet to encounter a film like “Lars and the Real Girl”, and in all likelihood you never will again. Stay with me…the story is going to take you to the extremes of bizarre.
Lars is a socially inept and highly awkward introvert (played by ‘The Notebook’ heartthrob Ryan Gosling). While extremely caring and compassionate, Lars resides in the garage-modified apartment behind the house he grew up in. Residing inside the house is his older brother Gus (Paul Schneider) and Gus’ pregnant wife Karin (English cutie Emily Mortimer). Lars refutes attempts to move into the house, preferring to stay alone in the garage, and won’t even accept invitations from his sister-in-law for dinner.
Lars is shown to love children, fixing toys for a young child in church and bending over backward to make sure the pregnant Karin is safe and warm. Lars is single and as such, the residents of the small town all want to see him fall in love and be happy, though he himself seems uninterested in dating. Fellow co-worker Margo (Kelli Garner) clearly has a crush on him though her attempts at affection seemingly go unnoticed by the peculiar Lars.
Concerned for his well being, Karin physically forces him to attend dinner one night where his social awkwardness, even around his own brother continues. At dinner it is revealed that the house was left to the brothers when their father died and Gus again beckons Lars to move in but he still prefers the solitude of the garage.
6 weeks later, after Lars receives a large package in the mail, he drops by the house to ask if he can bring a female visitor that he “met on the internet” over for dinner which they of course, eagerly oblige. The one caveat that Gus and Karin shockingly discover is that the new female companion of Lars is nothing more than a life-sized anatomically correct female doll named “Bianca.” At dinner, Lars explains that Bianca is a missionary who speaks very little English (explaining her silence) and is wheelchair bound (explaining why she doesn’t walk). The dinner goes on with Gus and Karin thoroughly flabbergasted over the situation, though Karin decides to act in a normal manner, even attempting to converse with Bianca.
The next day, Karin visits a local family doctor and psychologist Dr. Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson) to explain the situation. To avoid arousing suspicion in Lars, they decide to set up an appointment with Bianca where she is diagnosed with “low blood pressure” and therefore required to attend weekly treatments. In reality this is a ruse to get Lars into the office so Dagmar can evaluate him.
After an initial consultation, Dr. Dagmar advises Gus and Karin that Lars is fine – just suffering from a delusion that will end as soon as he “doesn’t need it anymore.” She also explains that the best way around it is to treat his illness with compassion and to go along with what Lars is doing until she can diagnose the root of the problem. As she explains, “Bianca is in town for a reason.” Because Lars is a good person and well loved by everyone in the small town, the rest of the residents agree as well to treat Bianca like a real person (despite the initial shock of witnessing the doll in church, in the waiting room of the doctor’s office, and riding around with Lars and his family).
As time advances, Dr. Dagmar begins to uncover some of the reasons that Lars has brought Bianca into his life. In a completely unexpected way, Bianca becomes a conduit for bringing the whole town together. With everyone embracing her, Bianca lands a job as a clothing model at the mall, volunteers helping at the hospital, and even getting elected to the school board. Gus is dealing with the seeming meltdown of his younger brother, blaming himself for leaving home as soon as he was of age, as Dagmar slowly peels away at Lars’ shell.
Ryan Gosling shows he’s more than just a pretty face with his superb portrayal of the atypical titular character. Paul Schneider, Emily Mortimer, and Kelli Garner are handpicked for the roles they portray. “Lars and the Real Girl” is a touching film that will have you second guessing the way society, and yourself, treat people of any walk of life that are different. It’s a great lesson in understanding those of us that are different. You’ll want to live in the small town depicted with all of its friendly residents – it just makes life seem so much better. “Lars and the Real Girl” will make a great view, a great addition to your collection, and something you’ll think about long after watching.
– by Matt Christopher
