by Sapphire Mason-Brown

Created on: March 10, 2010

There's Something About Bianca

Lars is a sweet but socially reclusive gentleman. The opening scene depicts Lars standing by the window of his house (the converted garage of his childhood home) until his sister-in-law walk from the main house to his front door and invites him over for breakfast. Initially Lars moves behind the curtain in retreat. The hesitation is brief, the change in expression subtle, but the intention and action are apparent. In this moment, Lars receives all the introduction needed. He doesn’t go to breakfast, despite promising to do so; not out of malice or indifference, but because social interaction is not something Lars id good with. This evident from his interactions with his family, co-workers and everyone else surrounding him.

It is not until 6 weeks later that Lars volunteers to join his brother Gus and sister-in-law Karin for a meal, the catalyst for this is his new friend, Bianca. Bianca is a life-sized, anatomically correct, ‘real-girl’ doll. Screenwriter Nancy Oliver and director Craig Gillespie walk the fine line between comedy and drama carefully. Upon looking at the DVD cover and hearing the high concept, “Guy starts dating sex doll”, one might expect a potentially vulgar all out comedy, something we have come to expect from Judd Apatow. What we receive instead is a beautiful story about a reclusive and somewhat socially inept man and possibly the most caring community ever.

When Lars brings Bianca to meet Gus and Karin, like any sensible human beings, they know that something must me wrong. Upon taking Lars to see a psychologist, under the pretence of taking Bianca to see a physician, Karin and Gus are told that the best thing to do the help Lars with his delusion, is to go along with it.

The story itself is genius. Nancy Oliver, who previously wrote and co-produced Six Feet Under, drew her inspiration from her experience of working on a website with loads of lonely guy. Like Six Feet Under, Lars and the Real Girl has a wonderful balance of drama and comedy. Lars and the Real Girl is an exploration ones mental condition, a family drama, the story of a community, a romance, and in the words of Nancy Oliver, a contemporary fairytale. Oliver achieves all of this and she does it well. Such a feat would not have been possible without Craig Gillespie’s masterful direction. Everything about the film is subtle and understated despite the subject matter.

Every performance in the film is marvellous. Without the wonderful and sincere performances across the board, the film would be nothing of what it is . Ryan Gosling delivers yet another stellar performance illustrating the range and talent of this young director. It is impossible to imagine another person in the role. Another performance that deserves a special mention is that of Patricia Clarkson and physician, Dagmar. She doesn’t have that much screen time, but in her motherly and professional role, she is a joy to watch. Through her portrayal of Dagmar, she teaches us much about our main protagonist and provides a psychological interpretation of Lars’ behaviour.

A combination of superb performances, intelligent writing and skilful direction result in a beautiful and understated independent film.

Learn more about this author, Sapphire Mason-Brown.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.