The first thing I want to say is that casting for Lars and the Real Girl is PERFECT - Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider and Kelli Garner. The subject matter for this movie could have SO EASILY gone wrong had the actors, specifically Ryan Gosling, played it like a joke. The story centers around Lars - he lives in the garage of the house his brother and sister-in-law own and seems to be lonely and very antisocial, or awkward at least in social situations. Right off the bat his sister-in-law, Karin (Emily Mortimer) begs him to come join them for breakfast and we see that he is very reluctant, preferring to spend time alone. Karin and Gus (Lars' brother), especially Karin, are worried about Lars but can't seem to find a way to help. Lars works at a cubicle-laden office (reason enough for depression) where we meet Margo, a girl who seems to have a crush on Lars but can't get through to him. Margo is interesting to me - she is kind of childish in a way but yet she seems to understand Lars more than anyone else. Lars' tactless cube-mate shows Lars one morning a site he found where you can buy sex dolls but Lars seems uninterested. That is, until a couple weeks later - Lars knocks on Karin and Gus's door and announces that he has a girlfriend, Bianca, from Russia and he would like for them to meet her. Because of his religious beliefs, he would also like for Bianca to stay with them. Karin and Gus are ecstatic - here they have been all worried about Lars and for no reason! Cut to the shot in the living room with Gus, Karin and Lars sitting awkwardly around a blow up doll. Lars seems to have no idea that Bianca is not real - he talks to her and responds as if she talked back. Gus and Karin freak out (a fantastic scene) but eventually tell Lars that Bianca should see a doctor, just for a checkup.
I LOVE where the story goes from here - it is SO clever and original. The doctor, played brilliantly by Patricia Clarkson, convinces Lars to bring Bianca in every week for treatment and in the meantime, she is afforded some alone time with Lars where she starts to learn more about him and perhaps what has led to this delusion with Bianca. He never catches on because she pretends as if she doesn't really care, after all, he's just there for Bianca, so they are just talking right? Their scenes together are fantastic. As time goes on, the townspeople play along, pretending that Bianca is real in order to help Lars. I won't say much more so that I don't spoil anything - but you can see how odd the subject matter is. Ryan Gosling is so subtle and perfect and he totally dedicates himself to this character - I mean, as an actor, he has to walk around all day talking to a sex doll without you thinking he is creepy or sick. Not once did I think that - he never crossed the line - in fact, by the end of the movie, I thought she was real too!
If you rent it, which you should and you will - check out the special features on the DVD - there is a great piece on Bianca and everything they had to do to prepare her for scenes. As is the case in the movie, they talk about her as if she is real and there are a couple of fantastic blips with Ryan Gosling talking about how Bianca is a diva. They even get into a fight :)
Here is what Roger Ebert had to say about Lars and the Real Girl...
"How do you make a film about a life-sized love doll, ordered through the Internet, into a life-affirming statement of hope? In "Lars and the Real Girl," you do it with faith in human nature, and with a performance by Ryan Gosling that says things that cannot be said. And you surround him with actors who express the instinctive kindness we show to those we love."
"As we watch this process, we glimpse Lars' inner world, one of hurt but also hidden hope. Nine actors out of 10 would have (rightly) turned down this role, suspecting it to be a minefield of bad laughs. Gosling's work here is a study in control of tone. He isn't too morose, too strange, too opaque, too earnest. The word for his behavior, so strange to the world, is serene. He loves his new friend, treats her courteously and expects everyone else to give her the respect he does. How this all finally works out is deeply satisfying. Only after the movie is over do you realize what a balancing act it was, what risks it took, what rewards it contains. A character says at one point that she has grown to like Bianca. So, heaven help us, have we."
I'm with you on this one. I watched this movie during the winter and I absolutely loved it! Lars in so sincere in his love for Bianca that you do feel yourself "seeing" her as a person. I love the scene when he introduces her to his family also. So funny the looks they exchange and yet Ryan stays totally in his role. He is awesome in this movie and totally makes it work. I didn't rent it so no bonus scenes. I watched it on free on demand movies. Just a lucky pick for me.
ReplyDelete