Saturday, April 5, 2008

A Doll of a Movie: Lars and the Real Girl

At first, I didn't want to watch it. Given its main premise, I imagined a comedic romp about a man who has an obsession with sex dolls to the point of wanting to marry one. Although it was a unique premise to say the least, I wasn't too keen on really venturing into Ryan Reynolds territory.

Oh, hold on. It's Ryan Gosling, the same tortured soul from Half-Nelson. I haven't watched the movie myself, but people have been raving about him left and right. I still haven't recovered/forgiven him for The Notebook, so I really was umming and ahhhing, but I said to myself, what the hey. Nothing to lose.

The movie was astounding.

The premise was not exactly what I envisioned. Gosling played Lars, a dysfunctional chap who has intimacy issues and his "girlfriend", Bianca, is a reflection of that. I was fearing that the movie would fall into slapstick territory, but not once did it do so. The comic relief came mostly in the form of Lars' workbuddy whose screen time barely lasted 5 minutes. The movie itself was highly dramatic, with excellent performances from Gosling, Patricia Clarkson and Emily Mortimer.

It's not a movie about sex dolls and perverted twists. It's about growing up a few years later than expected, facing your demons and embracing the lovely things in the world, even the ones that can hurt you. Yes, there are a few giggles here and there (given the premise, kinda hard not to), but mostly the movie is still a lot of heart. Highly recommended.

Rating: 4.5/5 slices

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