Details
Movie Description
As the title character, Ryan Gosling is a strange but likeable young man who manages to keep down a job but keeps mostly to himself. He only leaves the garage where he lives when his older brother Gus (Paul Schneider) and loving sister-in-law Karin (Emily Mortimer) drag him to their house next door for dinner. Lars doesn't take well to questioning, so the disturbing level of his isolation is never openly discussed. It's only when he announces he has a girlfriend in the form of an anatomically correct doll he purchased via the Internet that everyone must admit his precarious mental state. No one quite knows how to help Lars, so they play along, careful not to do anything that might push him or Bianca (his plastic fiancée) over the edge. The results are touching efforts on the part of all those who love him to help Lars through what his psychologist (Patricia Clarkson) assures them may be only a stage. Kelli Garner shines as Margo, the real, live girl who Lars seems incapable of seeing. Despite being ignored, Margo hangs in there, hopeful Lars will come around to sanity and to her.
Craig Gillespie's LARS AND THE REAL GIRL is a sweet love story and a film which deals with mental illness in surprisingly subtle ways. With a formula that could easily have manipulated for cheap laughs, the film achieves quirky humor in parts but mostly touching observations about the nature of delusions themselves. The film's talented cast gathers around Lars, a sensitive character who the film respects and who Gosling (THE NOTEBOOK, HALF NELSON) brings fully to life.
Industry Reviews
"[Gosling] finally has a movie that does full justice to his talents....[His portrayal] is a marvel, but so is the acting of Mortimer and Schneider..."
Box Office - Lisa Schwarzbaum (11/01/2007)
"[T]his is a film whose daring and delicate blend of apparent irreconcilables will sweep you off your feet if you're not too careful."
Los Angeles Times - Kenneth Turan (10/12/2007)
3 stars out of 5 -- "[Gosling] shows new qualities here and carries his simple Lars convincingly....He takes hard-to-believe and makes it believable..."
Total Film - Jonathan Dean (04/01/2008)
3 stars out of 5 -- "[With] a number of warm, open performances....Gosling shines..."
Uncut - Michael Bonner (03/07/2008)
4 stars out of 5 -- "The supporting cast, especially the bubbly Mortimer, are all excellent..."
Empire - Helen O'Hara (04/01/2008)
"[A] smart, thoughtful tale about mental illness....Ryan Gosling's pitch-perfect performance is instrumental..."
Sight and Sound - Kate Stables (04/01/2008)
“Craig Gillespie directed from Nancy Oliver’s gentle, searching script....This is a move about kindness.”
Wall Street Journal (09/18/2009)
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