This movie was nominated for best screenplay at last year’s Oscars. I finally caught up with it and I can see why.
The premise of the story is that Lars has difficulty relating to people, so he gets a doll and thinks she is a real girl. He is delusional, but everyone around him treats Bianca (the doll) as a real person.
Ryan Goslin’s performance as Lars is what makes this story work. He doesn’t portray Lars as a lunatic, he just looks like a normal person with some social problems. There are some scenes where Lars is talking to Bianca, and we obviously don’t hear her talk but we can guess what Lars is imagining her say.
At first people don’t quite know how to react to Bianca, including Lars’ brother. But in time everybody gets used to it and start playing along with Lars, and they really help integrate Bianca into their small community.
I love that the doll is not a sexual object for Lars at all. There is a reference to that by the others at first, including a funny scene looking up Bianca’s skirt. But otherwise Lars is just looking for a companion he can relate to.
I also liked how Lars got out of his delusion, and the reason for his fights with Bianca. It’s probably not likely from a medical/psychological point of view, but I think it works for this movie. It wraps up a little bit too neatly, again it works for me.
I love Lars line about fake flowers lasting forever, just like the doll. An indication of how Lars is affected by death. I must say at first I felt weird about the story, but by the end I was totally into it. A good original story.
Rating: 3.5 Stars