LARS AND THE REAL GIRL

By Michael J Edwards / July 1, 2011

Craig Gillespie Written by Nancy Oliver Distributed by: MGM Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Kelli Garner, Patricia Clarkson, Nancy Beatty Film is released in the U.K. on 21st March, 2008.

rating: 4

Review by Michael Edwards Taking as its premise a socially-challenged introvert, living in the garage of his old family home, who decides to purchase doll from the internet and acts as if it's his real girlfriend, Lars and the Real Girl could potentially have gone down two formulaic routes: 1. The kind of template crazy comedy that draws now meaningless accolades such as 'uproariously funny' and 'outrageously hilarious - a hoot from start to finish' from the usual rent-a-quotes, or 2. The kind of overly contrived kooky, quirky and off-the-wall indie-film that tries to hard to embed meaning in its own zaniness. If I had to choose I'd prefer the latter, but the writers and filmmakers have managed to take this movie down a much more subtle and surprising road, and I'm very glad they did. If it has to be pigeon-holed, which it really doesn't, I'd almost call this movie a twisted rom-com mixed in with liberal doses of family drama and small town Americana. Lars (Ryan Gosling), the key figure and eponymous doll-purchaser of the film, comes across as being a little disturbed but without being overly mocking or even appearing excessively ill. His quirky and somewhat disturbed character is painted in such a way that his difference is not glamourised like in many Indie flicks, but nor is a figure of fun or an object of pity. As the whole town is asked to help him through his delusion by playing along we see that he is actually just another well-loved member of the community who is helped through his hour of need. The result is a much needed film about difference that re-validates a 'normalising' process without ostracizing those who are different, thus avoiding the undesirable labels attached to those who are seen to support too strongly either individuality or community spirit. It's not even too sickly sweet in doing so! A refreshing achievement if you ask me. What's more, as the plot progresses we are treated to a sensitive tale that manages to unearth tumultuous, though not too aggressively contrived, family issues which are worked through with a light touch. There are bad decisions made, and cross words exchanged, but throughout the journey we are led with a gentle hand rather than bludgeoned like many an overly psychoanalytic film tends to (Margot at the Wedding [review here] being an obvious recent culprit). Perhaps a large part of the credit should go to the cast, among whom there is not a pork-product to be found. Ryan Gosling tackles the role of Lars with a sensitivity that does credit to the already well-scripted characters, and the tricky roles of his brother Gus (Paul Schneider) and sister-in-law Karin (Emily Mortimer) succeed with remarkable honesty in their depiction of two well-meaning but often misunderstanding loved-ones. Overall, wherever the praise should be thrown, I sincerely hope that this film is widely recognised for the subtle and engaging tale that it is, and that it isn't punished at the box office for not exploiting the sensationalist angles that could have been milked from the original concept. Lars and the Real Girl is out in UK cinemas on 21st March. Lars and the Real Girl official website can be found here.