This film came highly recommended by my cousin Tim and his wife, who I respect there movie opinions so much. Still when I picked up the box I had some skepticism that this movie was going to blow. Mainly that skepticism was based on the ridiculous story. Lars, played by Ryan Gosling, has lost both of his parents and would be considered a classic introvert. He stays to himself and lives in the garage of his brother and sisters home which is actually the home of his deceased family. Lars has never felt a connection anything like the one he lost with his parents and falls in love with a sex doll in which he names Bianca. Like I said this is a crazy idea for a movie, yet I found myself falling in love with everything about this film.
The story no matter how absurd it is actually takes on some pretty heavy material in a rather light way just like another recent favorite of mine Juno. Gosling, is strickened with pain and fears of further abandonment after his parents have deceased. His brother, played by up and coming actor Paul Schneider, loves him, but quickly left after the death of his parents, because of this his relationship with Lars is shattered. His sister in law played by Emily Mortimer, is trying to help Lars by showing that he is loved and that her and her husband care for Lars deeply. Gosling is magnificent once again. He spends a lot of time on screen with just a doll, yet the interaction he shares is wonderful. He does a great job showing the pain inside of himself through his interactions with others and when Bianca shows up at his door, you can actually see him fall in love with her.
The best parts of this movie, are when the town rallies together to support Lars and his doll girl friend. They take Bianca in as someone that has grown up in the town, and Bianca actually becomes a loved person, because the town realizes that this is how Lars is coping with the loss of his parents. Another wonderful character in this movie is Lars coworker, Margo, played by Khelli Garner. She has a crush on Lars from the start of this movie, but Lars is in no position to be in a healthy relationship, because he has completely closed himself off from interaction with real people. As Lars relationship with Bianca progresses he starts opening up to Margo, and you see him finally finding what he has desperately been looking for. Some one to be there for him! Lars as a character truly transforms in this movie and it makes you feel good. On one side we are sad to see Bianca “die” but because of this Lars is healed and can go on his way.
I think there is so much you can take out of this movie. Bianca was definitely Lars security blanket. He needed her to cope with his day-to-day life. Once he was able to get rid of that security blanket, he found some closure with the rest of the things that were going on in his life. He was able to connect with his brother again, he was able to put himself in social settings, and he was able to see that so many people cared about him. I think everyone will take something a little different from this movie and that’s what makes it great. Throw in wonderful performances from just about everyone in it and I will say it is definitely one of the most underrated films I have seen in a long time. Check it out!
2 comments:
I totally agree with your review. I was also a little skeptical about the movie, but is amazing! My favorite part is in the beginning when margo tries to talk to him after church and he throws the flower that he had in his hands. DId you catch that the movie is supposed to be set in northern wisconsin? There was a wisconsin map on his bulletin board, and the car plates said wisconsin.
Also in agreement here. I too thought I would hate the movie based upon the weird story description, not to mention the fact that some idiot at Netflix described it as an "oddball comedy." It's oddball, but it is much more of a drama, in my opinion.
I think you hit the nail on the head with the performances. There are two very difficult problems in pulling this movie off.
1. Convincing the audience that Lars is really in love with Bianca and it's real in his mind.
2. Convincing the audience that all of these people around Lars would go along with this craziness in order to help him.
The performances make the bizarre story work, and that is a credit to the actors and the director. I think Gosling sold the first part, and the family, coworkers and townspeople sold the second.
Gosling - As you said so well, you can see him falling in love with Bianca, and that really sells the delusional disorder and convinces the audience that this guy is really experiencing this, as crazy as it is. Between this film and Half Nelson, Gosling is really showing some art.
The story also helps there. This isn't some fantasy of the perfect woman blowing Lars on demand. It is a legitimate delusion, and the touching part is that Lars' brain has selected someone very much like himself to imagine. Not a perfect woman, but a wheelchair-bound foreigner who speaks little English - somebody who, like Lars himself, requires special patience and attention.
Schneider - Great performance. Truly disturbed and freaked out by his brother's delusional behavior, but also genuinely sad and concerned for his brother, and also feeling guilty about contributing to it. Can't believe he's doing what he's doing, e.g. putting Bianca to bed, but he's willing to do it to help his brother. He teeters back and forth between willingly cooperating and threatening to quit, but his better half convinces him to stay on board. You can watch his performance and believe that a real guy would react that way.
Mortimer - Also a great performance, very genuine in her concern for Lars. I think the scene where she confronts Lars outside - literally by the woodshed - about how much everyone has done for Bianca, solely because they care about him, is truly moving. She's very caring and open-minded, but even she had a max of bullshit she was willing to accept before calling him out.
While the family performances sell the idea that the family would go along with this "treatment," it is harder to believe that other townspeople would go along with it. Then again, this is a small town and this family has a notable history - death of both parents at a young age. Everybody knows what they've been through. On top of that, there is some realism mixed into it. Some people at the work party pretty openly mock the situation despite having been briefed on the situation, while others play along pretty easily. Everywhere they go, there are open-mouth gawkers who can't believe what they are seeing.
If the film hadn't overcome these obstacles as well as it had, it would have been pretty awful. However, it pulled it off so well that we are left with a very touching story about a very likeable but severely damaged man and the people around him that love him enough to go to absurd lengths to help him.
Finally, there's Margo, who is in love with Lars for the person he is and his disorder doesn't change those feelings. In the end, Lars gets what he deserves, the kind of unconditional, non-judgmental love that he originally and delusionally tried to offer to Bianca.
And Abbey, I agree, the tossing of that flower is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time.
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