Pace Paw Print

Issue date: 10/17/07 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: worstpreviews.com "He met her on the internet."

What happens when you feel lonely and have no one around? When your brother and his wife seem to have the perfect life, and you might feel like the third wheel? When you can't seem to find the perfect person to share your life with? Do you buy a plastic girlfriend online?

That's exactly what Lars Lindstrom (Ryan Gosling) does in the new movie, Lars & the Real Girl directed by Craig Gillespie (Woodcock) and written by Nancy Oliver (Six Feet Under).

It's never quite clear what's wrong with Lars, who lives in a freestanding garage outside the house of his brother Gus (Paul Schneider) and Gus' pregnant wife, Karin (Emily Mortimer).

He's high-functioning enough to hold down an office job, but so terrified of human contact that even Gus and Karin can barely corral him for a family breakfast.

Lars runs from the flirtatious advances of his new co-worker, Margo (Kelli Garner), and wears a scarf made from the baby blanket his mother knitted him before dying during labor.

So far his life seems pretty normal, but how normal is it to create the delusion of a life-size silicone sex doll as a girlfriend?

Lars is a painfully shy office worker who falls for a life-size silicone doll he orders on the Internet. He introduces her as Bianca, a half-Brazilian, half-Dutch missionary he met on the Internet. She can't speak very good English, so that explains why she doesn't speak and as for the incapacity to walk, that's resolved when Lars states that she needs a wheelchair because she's paralyzed.

When his brother Gus and his wife begin to panic, Karin thinks of the only solution, a shrink. Dr. Dagmar Berman (Patricia Clarkson) is introduced as a doctor who is trying to help Bianca get better; in the mean time she is analyzing Lars and his behavior.

When Gus and Karin ask Dr. Berman what's wrong with him, she states, "He appears to have a delusion." Gus strikes back by saying, "what is he doing with a delusion," bringing comedy to the movie with a serious topic.

All they can do is go along with Lars' delusion and wait until he doesn't need it anymore, Dr. Berman said, "Bianca is in town for a reason."

Bianca is treated like any other. Because everyone in town loves Lars, they tend to treat Bianca like a real person. From carting her to church in a wheelchair, restyling her synthetic hair, even electing her to the school board, the town accepts her.

The movie does a turn when Bianca becomes so busy for Lars, that he takes a twisted turn and becomes frustrated because it's not a normal relationship. Bianca has a schedule and Lars doesn't seem to fit in it sometimes.

This is where Margo comes along. Introduced in the beginning as the very flirtatious girl who is in love with Lars, Margo tends to call his attention after all.

While Bianca is too busy and Margo had seemed to move on, Lars began to pursue something with Margo. Lars invited Margo to go bowling, which is when he makes a seemingly small, but remarkable breakthrough.

Before I go into that, I must first tell you about the sessions that Lars has with Dr. Berman. Dr. Berman becomes a friend and companion to Lars, he speaks to her about his life and about things that bother him. She becomes his shrink without him knowing.

We are introduced to a problem that Lars has, the incapacity of being touched. Lars doesn't have the greatest wardrobe, and we realize that his choice of clothing is his own defense mechanism.

With that said, when Margo and Lars leave the bowling alley, one would expect nothing out of Lars because of the way he had been introduced in the film. On the contrary, Lars shakes Margo's hand and we start to realize why exactly Bianca is in town.

I won't go more into detail with the movie. What I will say is that it's a masterpiece. One doesn't think much of films like this until one sees it and realizes how much meaning it has.

In the film, Lars lives in a garage apartment in his brother and sister-in-law's backyard. When shooting began, Gosling, who plays Lars, moved in and slept there during the first weeks of filming.

"Ryan became Lars," Gillespie says. "He wants to live and breathe the person he plays. There were scenes where no one really knew what he would do or what would happen. Once he's in character, he's totally unpredictable."

On October 4, 2007, Ryan Gosling (Lars) and Craig Gillespie (Director) were at the Jacob Burns Film Center for a "Q&A" session. One of the questions came from a 15 year old girl, who started off by mention how she loved the film even though she was probably the youngest person there.

Gosling answered many questions and gave more than expected. Gosling stated that he felt more like this character than any other character he had ever played. Gillespie then commented that he is obviously crazy.

Gosling continued to speak about how amazing it was to play Lars, and that he can understand him more than he could understand himself.

In reality, a lot about the film wasn't planned at all. When given the script, the casting directors knew that they wanted Gosling. What they didn't know was how much he would actually bring to the film.

Gosling had his head so set into making this film as great as it should be that he continued bringing new ideas into play. By talking to Bianca to make him feel like he was talking to something real, he brought that concept to the film. For example, the character tends to squint frequently, which Gosling revealed was not part of the role, just something extra he added to the film.

The film is incredible. There isn't one bad thing I could say about it. There was one person who remarked about the title of the name during the Q&A, and it frustrated me. The title of the film 'Lars & the Real Girl' brings so much character to the movie itself. Who is the real girl, and do we ever meet her?

Lars & the Real Girl isn't like your ordinary film. Its genius and it's disappointing that it's an independent film, which is typically seen less than major motion pictures.

For those reading this article, I urge you to go see the film. It won't change your life, but it'll be worth it.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools