Lars and The Real Girl

Lars and the Real Girl is a 2007 movie directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Karen Oliver. The movie is about Lars, played by Ryan Gosling, whose sterile existence, is about to have a drastic change. Lars is a loveable social misfit who lives in the room connected to the family garage. His brother, Gus, and his wife Karin, live in the main house. Early on you see that Karin does her best to make Lars feel included, much to Lars' dismay. His life consists of getting ready in the morning to head out to work and heading right back into his home as soon as its done. Anything else is asking too much of him.

Lars' home world is made up of bleak whites and emptiness, while his family, tends to live among more color. His world is full of people trying to break through the barrier he has put up. His family, co-workers, and friends, do their best to show they want to include him. This seems to go right over his head. He doesn't like people to touch him, and fears social interaction. His sister-in-law repeatedly tries to get Lars to come to dinner. Eventually he accepts and tells his family that he will be bringing a female guest.

Then the reality of the matter hits. His female friend is Bianca, a Real Doll, and his family is shocked to say the least. His brother panics and can't even begin to grasp the thought of what this all means. Karin, on the other hand, does her best to be understanding, and from early on, plays along with the fact that Bianca is a real person, and that she obviously matters to Lars. This movie works solely on the basis that Lars lives in a world that is VERY understanding. Not to mention that the actors play it very straight.

Ryan Gosling plays Lars to perfection. You get a portrait of a young man holding back, but, who's real self is just hiding below the surface, waiting to break out. Emily Mortimer, and Paul Schneider, who play his sister-in-law, and brother, do a fantastic job of being appalled and understanding in their roles. Mortimer makes the character of Karin, sweet, understanding, and just the right touch naive. While Schneider, clearly playing the part of the disturbed brother, plays his role believable enough that he serves as the voice of doubt in the whole matter.

Along the way, Lars' family tricks him into visiting the local doctor/psychologist. This role is played with the right amount of subtlety by Patricia Clarkson. She is supposed to check on Bianca's health. All the while, getting more insight into what has prompted Lars to take up creating this persona, Bianca, and if it's in fact a sign of mental illness. The towns reaction to Lars new friend is surprising to say the least, but, helps to solidify Bianca as a character. I went into this movie being a non-believer as well. Quick to judge Lars, and poke fun at him. This is where the movie tricks you, because, in the end, the viewer, begins to believe as well.

I have to give it to the scriptwriter for being able to create this world where people are more tolerant and understanding of what is different from them. I went into this movie ready to ridicule the Lars character, and walked away with feelings for "someone" I had no idea I would care for in the end.

The Diving Bell and The Butterfly( Le Scaphandre et le Papillon)

This 2007 French film by Julian Schnabel, based on the book by Jean-Dominique "Jean-Do" Bauby, is a beautiful film with fantastic camera work and some amazing performances. The movie is about Bauby, editor-in-chief for ELLE, who suffered a disabilitating stroke at the age of 43. He wakes up in a hospital with what is called "locked-in syndrome", completely paralyzed save for one eye. Jean-Do is played masterfully by Mathieu Almaric, and shows us how he adjusts to his cruel fate. Prior to the stroke he had been a bit of a playboy, and had problems with his family, and social life. He is not able to communicate and has left a slew of tattered relationships that he is not able to fix in his current state. He quickly learns that only one of his eyes functions properly. How this is dealt with, in a scene not for the squeamish, is nothing short of cinema magic.

Jean-Do eventually begins speech therapy. His therapist, Henriette, played by Marie-Josèe Croze, a bit of a dead ringer for Naomi Watts, helps him develop a new way of communicating by blinking and using a system that includes the most frequently used letters in the alphabet. Jean-Do fights this at first, feeling sorry for himself, frustrated at not being able to function properly anymore and feeling disdain for those around him. Eventually he learns to keep going and with the help of his therapist, finds a way to contact his publicist to see about writing his memoirs. All the while we get flashbacks of what used to be, when he was on top of the world, and succeeding at making his important relationships fail. One of the main relationships that he seems to cherish and nurture, is the one with his father, played by Max Von Sydow. Who only has a small part in the movie, which he plays beautifully, but, it definitely has an impact on the viewer and the movie itself.

The acting in this movie is a big factor of what makes it work, but the other big part of it is the work by cinematographer, Jamuz Kaminski. Most of this film is shown from the point of view of Jean-Do. The blurry camera work, which is mostly shown a bit askew, lends to the frustration the viewer feels for the main character. You, in effect, feel trapped and frustrated as well.

I wouldn't want to belittle this film by calling it a message film, but, it definitely makes you think twice about what you haven't done with your life, and begs the question, "What are you waiting for?"

On a side note, this film was originally to be made by Universal with Johnny Depp starring in the lead role. Universal dropped it, and Mr. Depp had to return to the set of the final Pirates film.