Lars and the Real Girl

I am going to be starting a new feature here on Open Up The Sky called Movie Monday. I finally have time to watch movies, now that I've graduated, and so I'd like to just review them for you lovely readers.

First up: Lars and the Real Girl

I had been wanting to watch this movie since I first heard about it, but never got around to renting it. A while ago I borrowed it from a friend, and sat down to watch it one evening. I am glad to say that it did not disappoint me. Lars and the Real Girl is a very sweet story, one that feels very, well, real.

Lars Lindstrom, played by Ryan Gosling, is a shy, reserved man who lives in his brother Gus' modified garage. He goes to work and church, but spends most of his time alone, which suits him just fine. One day, Lars knocks on at Gus and Karin's door and announces that he has a female guest named Bianca. Elated, Gus and his wife Karin invite them over for dinner. However, Bianca is not quite what they expected. In fact, Bianca is a life-size, anatomically correct doll. But to Lars, she is a real girl. What ensues are events which challenge family relationships, dredge up past hurts and fears, and bring a socially-challenged man out of his shell.

I found the premise of the movie very unique - a man who is suffering from a delusion that makes a doll real to him. Gus and Karin bring Lars and Bianca to the local doctor seeking any sort of help for Lars' delusion. Dr Dagmar simply tells them "Go with it." She figures that Bianca is some sort of coping mechanism for Lars, and that when he doesn't need it anymore he will get over it. So Gus and Karin go to the rest of their small community and ask them to play along.

I think that was my favorite part about the movie. I expected some cruelty on the part of the community, making fun of Lars for believing Bianca was real. However, the way everything played out was beautiful. Everyone was so gentle and understanding of Lars. It restored my faith in people a little bit. Another high point was Karin's deep love and pursuit of Lars. Often Lars would push her away, yet Karin persisted and tried to break down the walls he had around him.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes movies that tug on your heartstrings. There was no explicit profanity that I caught. There were some jokes about Bianca being an anatomically correct doll, but nothing that was extremely offensive. Don't watch this movie is you're in the mood sit down and shut off your brain. But if you want a good-hearted and feel-good movie, Lars and the Real Girl might be what you're looking for.