Ryan Gosling has surprised me. After seeing The Notebook for the first (and only) time, I vowed never see another Ryan Gosling film again. I relented, seeing Murder By Numbers and, more recently, Half-Nelson. Half-Nelson was great and has a killer soundtrack with a lot of Broken Social Scene on it. Gosling's ability to play so many different characters well is really refreshing today when Steve Carell is cast in so many movies playing the exact same character in all of them and his sitcom The Office.
Anyway, Lars and the Real Girl is a touching story about a lonely man who buys a Real Doll--an extremely lifelike anatomically correct silicone doll that is completely customizable by the end user. However, it seems that he is only seeking for companionship, not carnal pleasure. He speaks and answers for her: Bianca. His community, in seeing such a void that is filled with delusion supplied by an inanimate object rallies together to treat her as well as Lars does.
It is filmed in a cold Wisconsin winter and as the snow melts, so do his social anxieties. Ryan Gosling and Emily Mortimer both shine in this comedy/drama. Personally, it's hard for me to make up my mind on what it should be: dramatic or comedic. During the film, there were many laughs in the theater seemingly because of the ridiculousness of the idea that a) such a doll exists and b) people actually spend money on such a thing. However, I have seen a documentary I'm sure not many have about men around the world who have Real Dolls for sex, for companionship, for quality of life. These men find it extremely hard to find a partner in life and have not necessarily reduced themselves to these dolls, but have accepted their plight. I highly recommend viewing the documentary while Lars and the Real Girl is fresh on one's mind. It is 47 minutes long and some viewer discretion should be advised.
As mentioned before, please go out and support indie movies. For those of you in New Orleans, keep abreast of the schedule at Canal Place theater.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Lars and the Real Girl
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2 comments:
Do you really think Steve Carell is a good example of a lack of diverse characters? I understand that he has been cast in similar roles (The Office, Evan Almighty, and 40 Year Old Virgin), but what about his role in Little Miss Sunshine, or his upcoming role in Dan in Real Life?
Little Miss Sunshine was a standout role, but from what I've seen of Dan in Real Life, he seems like a low-key intelligent Michael Scott.
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