Fan Forum - View Single Post - Lars And The Real Girl #2: Ryan's All 'Doll'ed Up.

**heaven85** · 04-15-2009, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Rajeev's Recco: Lars and the Real Girl

Rajeev Masand / CNN-IBN

TimePublished on Sat, Apr 04, 2009 at 09:48, Updated on Sat, Apr 04, 2009 at 12:16 in Entertainment section

TagsTags: Now Showing, Rajeev's Recco

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VERY REAL FILM: The film is a sweet love story which deals with mental illness in subtle ways.

April 14, 2009

Lars and the Real Girl stars Ryan Gosling as a strange but likeable young man who keeps mostly to himself, even when he’s at work.

He only leaves the garage where he lives when his older brother and loving sister-in-law 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.

When Lars announces he has a girlfriend, there’s a glimmer of hope until it’s revealed that he’s imagined a relationship between himself an inflatable female doll he purchased on the Internet.

Family and friends realise he’s got a delicate mental state, and yet nobody quite knows how to help him. So as not to push him over the edge, everyone plays along.

The results are some touching efforts on the part of all those who love him to help Lars through what they hope may be only a phase.

A sweet love story and a film which deals with mental illness in surprisingly subtle ways, Lars and the Real Girl is a tender drama that avoids the kind of cheap jokes that a formula like this could have easily attracted.

More than likely you’ll find a lump in your throat as you take in this film because it’s beautifully acted by Ryan Gosling and because there’s real warmth at its heart.

Rent it on DVD this weekend, it’s one of the loveliest little films you’ll come across.

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