Isn't She A Doll?

On paper, “Lars and the Real Girl” is a bizarre movie.  It is the story of a lonely man in a small town who finds companionship in a sex doll.  He incorporates the doll into his everyday life-introducing her to friends, taking her with him everywhere he goes and treating her as an actual human being. 

On screen, “Lars and the Real Girl” is a bizarre movie.  It is also a strangely touching one.  After planning on seeing the movie my entire time in Seattle (our first trip to the theater found us showing up to an unplanned screening of “Darfur Now,” which was a little different tone than we were going for) I finally made it down to Angelika Film Center last night to see it. 

The poster for the movie is enough to provoke laughter from just about anyone.  Who would have thought up the bizarre idea to make a feature film about a man’s relationship to a sex doll?  Aren’t those things better left for late night HBO specials? 

Turns out that Nancy Oliver, associated with HBO only by the fact that she wrote for the brilliant show “Six Feet Under,” proves once again that she can make something touching out of a twisted premise.  Just like that TV show found extremely human interactions and poignant realizations through unconventional ways (conversations with corpses, anyone?) “Lars” finds humor and sincere emotion through a man’s relationship with a doll. 

The story begins in Lars’ unnamed small town where he resides with his brother and sister-in-law.  At first he is a painfully removed character, who shies away from any personal connections with the various people attempting to let him into their lives.  We are clued into minor parts of his back story but for the most part are kept in the dark.  With the arrival of the doll, things take many unexpected turns and Lars’ story is underway.   

Sometimes the journey we take to grow isn’t one that fits into our country’s view of what is right.  Ultimately, Lars comes to certain emotional realizations but the way he gets there is very unconventional.  People attempt to define his condition as one of mental illness, and as a viewer there are times where the proceedings seem so utterly bizarre that we immediately confer that yes, indeed, he must be mentally ill.  In reality he’s using the doll to heal a part of himself.  Just like children concoct imaginary friends to comfort and protect them, Lars plays out the imaginary friend in an adult version complete with adult emotions. 

Fortunately, Ryan Gosling is more than capable at displaying the range of emotion in this richly layered character.  Gosling, although physically transformed by an extra twenty pounds and an unattractive mustache, is his usually astounding self.  Unlike many young actors, he seems to continuously take risks with the scripts he chooses and “Lars” is no exception.

 

Part of what makes the movie so frustrating, and in the end rewarding, is that Gosling makes what would seem like an easy diagnosis of mental illness difficult because of the power of his performance.  He never comes across as deranged or delusional,  just damaged and wounded.  At times when he is caring for both himself and Bianca (the doll) the conversations he carries on with himself are so realistic, you almost begin to believe that Bianca is real too.  He’s practically giving two performances. 

What’s great about the movie is just like the absurd situation involving Lars ends up affecting the entire community to an extent they could never foresee, the movie wraps up the audience in the very same way.  Through Ryan Gosling’s incredible performance, he gives us not one but two very human characters. They are both flawed, one isn’t even an actual human, but he proves that it can be the strangest things that have the most profound impact on our lives. 

The movie is flawed, but a few powerful performances (from Gosling and supporting actors, Emily Mortimer, Patricia Clarkson and Paul Schneider) add compelling emotional impact to a story that seemed like a one joke wonder originally. 

Comments

[Barbara]

I loved Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson and I've been wanting to see this movie but so far it's not playing here in podunk new york, and probably never will. You can see any slasher movie you want but not a lovely little film like this. Do I sound bitter?Thank goodness for Netflix!

[Miriam Madry]

Oh I really want to see this movie, I'm gonna try and catch it this week!! By the way, I can't stop listening to the Alicia song you posted! I have to get the album, she is my woman. On a random side note, have you ever watched any of the "salad fingers" videos? If not, and you feel like being entertained google that and WATCH THEM!

[M]

Miriam, you should see the movie. It's not perfect in anyway, but his performance is fantastic. It was also thought provoking in ways I didn't anticipate.

Speaking of thought provoking, Salad Fingers and I are old buddies. I first became obsessed with him through my friend Daniel about two years ago, but I haven't watched much in a while. CREEPY and WONDERFUL!

[Diana]

This movie was unlike any other movie I've ever seen, and I mean that in a good way. Some parts are so awkward that it's a bit painful to sit through but i really loved the little, quirky moments or the side conversations lars would have with bianca. And I agree Ryan Gosling was phenomenal.