Lars and The Real Girl

Downloaded this after watching the trailer quite awhile ago and finding it funny. Not sure if it's an indie movie but the way it's filmed definitely has that sorta indie feel to it. Firstly, there's the minimalist music accompanying most of the scenes and the way the camera pans in or out to get the scenery before or after focusing on the characters. This is in no way a bad thing. The location of the movie, Ontario, Canada definitely is beautiful in winter, which is when the movie was shot. It's a lovely quiet, small town and this is where the whole movie takes place.

The movie starts off with Lars, played very very excellently by Ryan Gosling as a kind of Introvert. Keeps to himself to the point of being on the verge of being rude, lives in his brother's garage etc. However, everyone in the town still thinks he's a nice guy as is usually so in small towns.

Anyways, his workmate introduces him to this website for sex dolls where you can choose your "parts" and they ship it to your house. Apparently the parts are "anatomically correct" and weighs like a normal human would. Very real indeed. The movie doesn't show you this but it's understood that Lars ordered one. Problem is, his delusion makes him see the doll as a living person, complete with feelings and background.

This is where Ryan Gosling really shines, his acting is nothing short of superb, interacting with the doll so realistically that you can't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it. He single-handedly carries the entire show. Acting as an introvert, he has weird behavior and it looks really natural on-screen. The reason why the movie stands out for me is, there is no special effects whatsoever, it's just acting in it's purest form and every single one of the cast pulls their weight here. Lars's brother, Gus, played by Paul Schneider, is extremely comical even if he doesn't mean to be in most scenes. His expressions and dialogue provide the comedy in an otherwise heart-touching light drama.
There's very little to criticize in the movie, but for people used to blockbusters, fast-moving action, and Jim Carrey-esque comedy, you won't get it here. The plot is rather slow moving with certain scenes, showing them just sitting down and staring at each other. The scenes very often are played out by them standing or sitting around and talking and interacting and a rough guess would be that there are about 8 to 10 sets at maximum with many scenes taking part in the same places. You may not take to it right away as the plot does take awhile to really reveal itself but stick with it and you are guaranteed a entertainingly different show. Lastly, i doubt many people will watch the show more than once or twice in a short span of time due to the slowness of it.

I'll wrap it up by saying I really loved it and would definitely recommend it, at the very least, to be downloaded. Pure acting at it's best.

9/10

Rating