Spring Break
Lars and The Real Girl a real find
Issue date: 10/25/07
If you ticket in to the Charles Theater this Friday, a midwesternly clad, late pornographic doll will challenge your conception of acceptable emotional expression. Then again, she may just turn you on. The upcoming film, Lars and the Real Girl, avoids categorization as it brings comedy and heartfelt introspection together.
In a small town, two brothers - one married, in the house, and the other reclusive, alone, and in the garage - struggle in the aftermath of their father's death. While the eldest (Paul Schneider) is expecting a baby, the other, Lars (Ryan Gosling), is expecting a custom-made plastic doll from a pornographic site.
No dirty jokes here though; Lars has no intention of using Bianca as advertised. Instead he is under the delusion that she is real and that she is his girlfriend.
The comedy blossoms from the family's reaction to Lars's friend and from the complete absurdity of the delusion. Despite their shock - and oh, what faces we see - they participate in Lars's delusion, hoping, as the doctor suggests, that it may one day pass. What ensues is a beautiful exploration into how a family responds to a suffering member, and how they experience guilt, pride, and helplessness.
The brother-to-brother relationship illuminates the pain and guilt Gus, the older brother, has in leaving Lars at an unhealthy home, and raises questions about love, responsibility and movement into manhood. The story's scope does not rest with the family but includes how an entire town comes to support a sick man. And here the revealed stigma of mental illness stirs both humor and pity.
For Lars, however, there as never been such a wonderful time in his life. He engenders a relationship with Bianca in which he is finally capable of being vulnerable - where he can express the weight of his lifelong grief, fear and pain.
Unlike his parents, brother and self-security, which abandoned him, Bianca will not, or rather cannot, leave his side. And it is through his connection, or perhaps rather, his self-expression, that Lars comes to process and overcome his profound alienation.
In a small town, two brothers - one married, in the house, and the other reclusive, alone, and in the garage - struggle in the aftermath of their father's death. While the eldest (Paul Schneider) is expecting a baby, the other, Lars (Ryan Gosling), is expecting a custom-made plastic doll from a pornographic site.
No dirty jokes here though; Lars has no intention of using Bianca as advertised. Instead he is under the delusion that she is real and that she is his girlfriend.
The comedy blossoms from the family's reaction to Lars's friend and from the complete absurdity of the delusion. Despite their shock - and oh, what faces we see - they participate in Lars's delusion, hoping, as the doctor suggests, that it may one day pass. What ensues is a beautiful exploration into how a family responds to a suffering member, and how they experience guilt, pride, and helplessness.
The brother-to-brother relationship illuminates the pain and guilt Gus, the older brother, has in leaving Lars at an unhealthy home, and raises questions about love, responsibility and movement into manhood. The story's scope does not rest with the family but includes how an entire town comes to support a sick man. And here the revealed stigma of mental illness stirs both humor and pity.
For Lars, however, there as never been such a wonderful time in his life. He engenders a relationship with Bianca in which he is finally capable of being vulnerable - where he can express the weight of his lifelong grief, fear and pain.
Unlike his parents, brother and self-security, which abandoned him, Bianca will not, or rather cannot, leave his side. And it is through his connection, or perhaps rather, his self-expression, that Lars comes to process and overcome his profound alienation.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
patrick
posted 4/24/08 @ 6:42 PM EST
the over all look and feel of Lars and the Real Girl reminded me a lot of Mozart the over all look and feel of Lars and the Real Girl reminded me a lot of Mozart and the Whale (Josh Hartnett plays a character resembling Ryan Gosling?s); both movies are about acceptance and unconditional love
Post a Comment