REVIEW: Lars and the Real Girl

Cast - Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer

In a cold North American town, Lars Lindstrom (Ryan Gosling) leads a hermetic life, going from his garage-cum- home to work to church avoiding as many people as possible on his way.

He is likeable and innocent but his chronic shyness means he lives a half-life, lonely and devoid of human contact. All this changes when a box arrives, containing his new “girl” friend, a delusion he invents to get over a dysfunctional family history.

This is a brilliantly sweet story, full of humour and charm with some teary moments written by Nancy Oliver (Six Feet Under). Gosling delivers another great performance following last year’s Half Nelson, picking up the weirdness of Lars without over doing it.   

The supporting cast (Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Patricia Clarkson) really provide the film with the little rich moments that a film like this is made of, and help the film to steer clear of being pegged into the “quirky” category.

- Marc Gallagher