GazerRise Fantastic!

Hayleigh Joseph This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

matthewjoseph-54651 Lars, is a young man living in a tiny town somewhere in America. He is either autistic, schizoid or just plain introverted but either ways he is "different". Played astonishingly well by Ryan Gosling one day he receives a doll with whom he falls in love with. Such is his devotion that he even takes her to meet the town folks and have tea with her. This is a great, obscure film featuring a tour de force performance by Gosling. Check it out and you'll be mildly surprised.

adonis98-743-186503 A delusional young man strikes up an unconventional relationship with a doll he finds on the Internet. Lars and the Real Girl is a weird love story and yet somehow it's so sweet, dramatic and even inspiring at times because it felt real. Ryan Gosling deserved an Oscar for his perfomance, each scene he is in he steals it he is just incredible, Emily Mortimer and Paul Schneider are also great. This is a film that lot of people won't understand that will hate it and turn it off but for those who want to see something great, something unique and beautiful go and rent it or even better? Buy it!!!

percyporcelain Agreed (with another reviewer), there is a serious point to this film. I think it is that in 21st century Western society we are anxious to accommodate all sexual variations, never to judge or denounce, always to accept. As recently as 20 or 30 years ago, all Lars' friends and neighbours would likely have shunned and ostracised him as a lonely misfit who can't get a girlfriend. Now we bend over backwards (no pun intended) to accept his choice of a silicone doll for a partner, inviting her to parties, the church, and even (without wishing to spoil the story) sharing his grief when she 'dies'. Now either this will make you rage and want to throttle all these dumb liberals, or it will make you rejoice in human tolerance. Anyway fine performances from everyone and a reflective rather than an exploitative movie

Izzy Lars and the Real Girl is a film directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Nancy Oliver. It stars Ryan Gosling as Lars, Emily Mortimer as Karin, Paul Schneider as Gus, Kelli Garner as Margo and Patricia Clarkson as Dagmar. Lars and the Real Girl is a film that really pulls at the heart strings a lot and I felt incredibly connected with the main character, Lars because he is fragile, scared and does not feel very comfortable around other people. He orders a doll that becomes his girlfriend which I think is a way of him dealing with this issues rather than a solution to being alone. The conversations and the history of Bianca, the doll are all ways of Lars trying to communicate with others and himself as well as come to grasps with the emotions he is trying to feel. Lars is suffering from Tactile sensitivity or hypersensitivity which is basically the increased sensitivity to touch as whilst he is at the Doctors he cannot seem to bear the simple touch of a hand on his neck as it feels incredibly painful. Lars is trying to overcome the idea of his brother having a child as he is afraid of change I believe. He shows little emotion sometimes, he is mostly on his own and doesn't spend much time with others around him. His childhood has been damaged by the death of both his parents and the loss of his brother. Everyone in the community goes along with his delusion and all try and come to terms with the fact that Lars thinks that this doll is real. I feel like Lars is under the delusion that she is real but I do not think he is fully delusional but is aware of the fact that her identity is forgery and is not real and creates her life from his life as well as his fears and personality because there are moments where he unknowingly questions her reality, her identity and her sentience. Lars seems distant from everybody and it doesn't seem to want to open up to anybody at all, he finds that very hard but manages to open up to two people in this film, Bianca's doctor and Bianca. When Bianca starts to die, we forget that she is a doll and cannot die and remember that Lars is the one making the decisions, I feel like this means that he is finally coming to terms with things and that that fear inside him is dying. This film is extremely relatable for me in particular because of how Lars feels around others and his way of dealing with it, trying to come to terms with things as well as trying to become someone better and more willing to friendship and relationships but is unsure as to what it all means in his heart and wants a way through it all, he seems afraid and confused which is an emotion we all feel sometimes. Ryan Gosling's performance in this film is breathtaking, I cannot begin to explain how it made me feel because of how genuine and real it felt as well as the obstacles he faces in the film. Dagmar, his psychiatrist/doctor was also incredibly well acted by Patricia Clarkson, all the actors in this film really amazed me and were moving in their own ways. This film is funny, moving, real and makes you wonder whether you are supposed to laugh or not because in a sense it is funny but in other ways it is extremely dark and upsetting. The community all come together to make Bianca feel at home just because they want Lars to feel included and happy which I find extremely heartfelt and sadly unrealistic. You feel bad for him but in another sense you want to be able to handle things with him and experience what he feels and why this was the way he chose to handle his problems. It makes you wonder whether Bianca is for loneliness, guilt or a way of moving forward. Lars goes through all the stages of coming to terms with something, he goes through denial, confusion, anger, sadness and finally recognition and trying to do something about it and along the way are those who care about him and those who try to understand him. The blanket he carries around is almost like his objectified safe haven that he carries around to help him cope and feel more at ease and to sort of take the edge off of scary or uncomfortable situations. He cannot be in a real relationship with a a girl because he cannot be touched, he distances himself from people whilst trying to connect at the same time, showing a mental battle within him as well as a physical need to want and desire whilst wanting to be left alone. The film is well made, I love the writing as well as acting and I love the song that plays (David Torn - At the mall), those three things shine bright in this film and it definitely should be more popular. (Films like this often don't get popular, it's too real for the masses). Lars goes through the death of his girlfriend, he learns and overcomes many things in the process and acknowledges his strengths and abilities and tries to become a man. It is very touching and charming in many ways which is why this film really stands out to me, it is hard to be sad and funny at the same time and this film has the perfect blend of the two as well as the subtlety to make it work very well on screen.