Lars and the Real Girl
This is a film that, for all intensive purposes, should not work. It’s subject has the makings of a farce (I can see the Farrelly Brothers having a field day with this material), but instead, it’s played as a lovely, moving character study, and quite an exceptional one at that. To go the direction the filmmakers take here is even more dangerous, because to hit the wrong notes would lead to unintentional humor and mocking on the part of an audience. Thankfully, the filmmakers of this movie hit all of the right ones.
They start by casting rising star Ryan Gosling (“The Notebook,” “Half Nelson”) in the role of Lars, a young man in his 20s who lives with his brother Gus (Paul Schneider) and sister-in-law Karin (Emily Mortimer, continuing to impress in a variety of films such as “Dear Frankie” and “Match Point”), who are about to have a baby, in the family house, left to them by their father, who passed away after years of depression over the death of his wife. Well, Lars doesn’t exactly live in the family house- he actually lives in the garage, and generally keeps to himself when he’s not at work or out in the town. Karin continually invites Lars to eat with her and Gus, and keeps Lars abreast of their life, but he comes up with excuse after excuse to not do so. And though he has some interaction with people, he isn’t one to carry on a conversation, and he is uncomfortable when people touch him. It literally causes him pain to feel the touch of another person.
One day while at work, Lars’ co-worker is surfing the Internet, and comes across a site that sells sex dolls that are “anatomically correct.” They aren’t blow-up dolls, though; they’re more like manniquins, built specific for the customer. Six weeks later, Lars has a crate delivered to the house. That night, he introduces Gus and Karin to Bianca, whom he “met online.” He’s bought himself one of the dolls, of course, which stuns Gus and Karin, because it’s as real to him as they are. He carrys on conversations with it, they set a place setting for it at dinner, he dotes on her, getting her a wheelchair because she can’t walk (she’s paraplegic), and even gets Gus and Karin to set Bianca up in the guest bedroom.
I don’t want to say anymore, because a lot of this movie’s appeal lies in how things progress from there (and the surprise in how they do). As Roger Ebert has said several times about movies, it’s not what a movie’s about but how it’s about it, and this film is a textbook definition of that idea, and how it can succeed. There’s a patented level of absurdity in this film that’s right up front- if a real person did this, it’s unlikely their friends and family would be so understanding and accepting of it- but the film reveals its’ main focus very early on, when during a church service the minister is in the middle of a sermon preaching, simply, to “love thy neighbor.” How this idea is worked into the film is inspired and inspiring, bringing out the best in a community, and leading to a finale that is deeply satisfying and moving, all the more so because writer Nancy Oliver and director Craig Gillespie earn it by following the story through to the end.
I bet if we all think really hard, we can think of someone in our life who reminds us of Lars. At his core, Lars isn’t a pervert or bad guy (there’s no indication he ever uses the doll for its’ intended purpose, even without explicitly saying so)- he’s simply a young man whose life and circumstances has made him an introvert (an extreme one to be sure, but a believable one). He functions well enough in the world to hold down a job, and he is sweet enough to have people who care about him, and look to help bring him out of his shell. But he isn’t one for human interaction- on a very basic level it scares him I think. People want to include him, but he doesn’t appear interested…and even a part of him might like the peace and quiet.
Bianca changes all that. Suddenly, Lars is going out, coming in for meals with Gus and Karin, and just opening himself up to life in a rather profound way. And it inspires the community to act in ways that, regardless how small, are profound for what they mean to Lars (most importantly is the way a family doctor, played by the always-exceptional Patricia Clarkson in a terrific change from her usually-biting characters, inspires change in Lars and his brother without even saying what we clearly see as happening). Even Gus, who worries his brother is just nuts, and too far gone at the outset, finds a piece of himself that can help Lars heal, and maybe even heal a bit of himself as well (Schneider is extraordinary in tracking Gus’ own evolution, which is- I think- just as important as Lars’). But before you think Lars is a saint, he’s not without his flaws- there’s a rage in his voice when he and Bianca have an arguement that is unsettling to the people who hear it. And his initial “shyness” around people and undesire for any human contact could be perceived as mean and untrusting of people who just want what’s best for him.
Yet we see Lars as the town sees him. In spite of this, we still root for him, mainly because Gosling plays him with such sincerity and honesty. This isn’t Tom Hanks in “Forrest Gump” or Sean Penn in “I Am Sam”- Gosling doesn’t reach out and ask us to like him (neither did Hanks, but come on, that character was very holier than thou). He makes Lars earn our admiration by the type of person he is at his best. He gives what could have been a superficial character- too shallow for our interest, too much of a joke for our sympathy- and makes his journey one of hope, one we all hope to emulate…although we’ll probably take a different path than he does to get there.
