Lars and the Real Girl: Difference between revisions
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==Critical reception== |
==Critical reception== |
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The film received generally favorable reviews from critics. |
The film received generally favorable reviews from critics. On the review aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]], 81% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 120 reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10007394-lars_and_the_real_girl/ |title=Lars And The Real Girl – Rotten Tomatoes |accessdate=2008-02-11 |publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film had an average score of 70 out of 100, based on 32 reviews.<ref name=mc>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/larsandtherealgirl |title=Lars and the Real Girl (2007): Reviews |accessdate=2008-02-11 |publisher=[[Metacritic]]}}</ref> |
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''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' critic Joe Morgenstern said "It's nothing less than a miracle that the director, Craig Gillespie, and the writer, Nancy Oliver, have been able to make such an endearing, intelligent and tender comedy from a premise that, in other hands, might sustain a five-minute sketch on TV." Morgenstern also wrote, "It is also, on its own modest terms, an almost perfect movie with flawless performances." He said Lars is "played brilliantly by Ryan Gosling" and said Patricia Clarkson is "droll, dry and precise, yet mysteriously intense."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119214106649656557.html?mod=djm_HAWSJSB_WelcomeSkip |title=Movie Miracle: 'Lars' Is a Smart, Tender Comedy |accessdate=2007-10-15 |author=Joe Morgenstern |date=2007-10-12 |publisher=''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''}}</ref> Peter Rainer of ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'' gave the film an "A−". Rainer wrote, "Director Craig Gillespie and screenwriter Nancy Oliver want to shock audiences, but not in the ways you might expect. Their movie is about loneliness and the ways in which it is mitigated by human kindness. If [[Frank Capra]] were starting out today, he might have made a film like this one." and said "Capra often front-loaded his morality plays with a heavy dose of whimsy. Gillespie and Oliver do a similar thing here."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1012/p14s02-almo.html |title=Plastic sheen, vibrant heart |accessdate=2007-10-15 |author=Peter Rainer |date=2007-10-12 |publisher=''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]''}}</ref> Howard Karren of ''[[Premiere (magazine)|Premiere]]'' gave the film 3 1/2 stars and said the film "manages to explore the pain of mental illness and still be funny." Karren said "The movie takes a humanist and Capra-esque approach to all-American eccentricity, yet never seems goofy, simplistic, or maudlin." Karren condluded, "Lars's attraction to Bianca is like an audience's to an actor onscreen – the object is fake, an approximation, but for some that's better than flesh and blood. Bianca is a work of art. And so is ''Lars and the Real Girl''."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.premiere.com/moviereviews/4168/lars-and-the-real-girl.html |title=Premiere – Lars and the Real Girl |accessdate=2007-10-15 |author=Howard Karren |date=2007-10-11 |publisher=''[[Premiere (magazine)|Premiere]]''}}</ref> |
''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' critic Joe Morgenstern said "It's nothing less than a miracle that the director, Craig Gillespie, and the writer, Nancy Oliver, have been able to make such an endearing, intelligent and tender comedy from a premise that, in other hands, might sustain a five-minute sketch on TV." Morgenstern also wrote, "It is also, on its own modest terms, an almost perfect movie with flawless performances." He said Lars is "played brilliantly by Ryan Gosling" and said Patricia Clarkson is "droll, dry and precise, yet mysteriously intense."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119214106649656557.html?mod=djm_HAWSJSB_WelcomeSkip |title=Movie Miracle: 'Lars' Is a Smart, Tender Comedy |accessdate=2007-10-15 |author=Joe Morgenstern |date=2007-10-12 |publisher=''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''}}</ref> Peter Rainer of ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'' gave the film an "A−". Rainer wrote, "Director Craig Gillespie and screenwriter Nancy Oliver want to shock audiences, but not in the ways you might expect. Their movie is about loneliness and the ways in which it is mitigated by human kindness. If [[Frank Capra]] were starting out today, he might have made a film like this one." and said "Capra often front-loaded his morality plays with a heavy dose of whimsy. Gillespie and Oliver do a similar thing here."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1012/p14s02-almo.html |title=Plastic sheen, vibrant heart |accessdate=2007-10-15 |author=Peter Rainer |date=2007-10-12 |publisher=''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]''}}</ref> Howard Karren of ''[[Premiere (magazine)|Premiere]]'' gave the film 3 1/2 stars and said the film "manages to explore the pain of mental illness and still be funny." Karren said "The movie takes a humanist and Capra-esque approach to all-American eccentricity, yet never seems goofy, simplistic, or maudlin." Karren condluded, "Lars's attraction to Bianca is like an audience's to an actor onscreen – the object is fake, an approximation, but for some that's better than flesh and blood. Bianca is a work of art. And so is ''Lars and the Real Girl''."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.premiere.com/moviereviews/4168/lars-and-the-real-girl.html |title=Premiere – Lars and the Real Girl |accessdate=2007-10-15 |author=Howard Karren |date=2007-10-11 |publisher=''[[Premiere (magazine)|Premiere]]''}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 14:39, 7 July 2008
| Lars and the Real Girl | |
|---|---|
 Promotional film poster | |
| Directed by | Craig Gillespie |
| Written by | Nancy Oliver |
| Produced by | Sarah Aubrey |
| Starring | Ryan Gosling Emily Mortimer Paul Schneider Kelli Garner Patricia Clarkson Nancy Beatty |
| Cinematography | Adam Kimmel |
| Edited by | Tatiana S. Riegel |
| Music by | David Torn |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release dates | United States: October 12, 2007 Canada: November 2, 2007 |
Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
Lars and the Real Girl is a 2007 film written by Nancy Oliver and directed by Craig Gillespie.
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, receiving a standing ovation, and showed again on September 13 as well as twice on September 15, 2007 at the Boston Film Festival, where the director took questions from the sold-out audience after the first screening. It was released on October 12, 2007 in New York and Los Angeles.[1] The movie was filmed in various locations in Ontario, Canada.
Ryan Gosling stars as Lars Lindstrom, an extremely shy young man living in a small town. He purchases a sex doll online and proceeds to introduce her to his brother and sister-in-law as his girlfriend. Despite the concerns of his friends and relatives, a local doctor notes that since Lars otherwise has a highly functional personality that threatens no one, this delusion is a sign that he is working through some personal issues and his loved ones should play along in the meantime. With some persuasion, the entire town eventually participates as well with growing enthusiasm for this unusual, but enjoyable, activity as Lars continues to pursue what he perceives as a deep and meaningful relationship with the doll.
Plot
Lars Lindstrom (Ryan Gosling) lives in the garage in his parents' house while his brother and sister-in-law – Gus (Paul Schneider) and Karin (Emily Mortimer)– live in the main house, following their parents' death. While at work one day, Lars' coworker mentions a Real Doll that can be purchased to model an actual woman. Six weeks later a package arrives for Lars. He approaches Gus and Karin and tells them he met a girl, explaining that she is wheelchair bound, and that because of her moral beliefs against sex before marriage, he would like her to stay in the guest bedroom inside their house. They happily agree until they realize this new girl is actually Bianca, a Real Doll.
Concerned, they convince Lars to take Bianca to the family doctor. Karin mentions to Gus that since the family doctor is also a psychologist the visits will actually help determine why Lars is treating Bianca as a real woman. Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson), the doctor, tells Lars that Bianca is sick, and will need to see her each week for treatment. Lars consents and agrees to talk to Dagmar about their relationship while Bianca sleeps as part of her treatment. Later, Dagmar calls Karin and Gus in to tell them Lars is not crazy, she explains that eventually Lars will be fine and that the best they can do for him is to go along. Reluctantly, Gus and Karin agree.
As time passes, Lars begins to bring Bianca on "dates" out on the town. The other townspeople are at first unnerved, and the parishioners meet with Gus and Karin to discuss Lars. The community begins to act towards Bianca as a real woman, and she makes friends. Some women talk about giving her a makeover, while others mention that she would like to volunteer at the hospital reading stories to children or working as a model in a clothing store. Lars agrees that Bianca really wants to do these things and Lars interacts more with the townspeople through Bianca.
At work, Lars begins to notice his coworker Margo (Kelli Garner), though she now has a boyfriend. Lars later tells Dagmar that he asked Bianca to marry him, but she said no. Margo asks Lars if he wants to go bowling Friday, her, him and Bianca. Lars replies that Bianca has a school board meeting, but he might as well do something to pass the time during her meeting and they agree to meet. At the bowling alley that night, the two enjoy themselves. At the end of the night, while saying goodbye, Lars explains to Margo that he could never cheat on Bianca. She replies that she would never ask him to, and hopes to one day find a man like that for herself.
One morning, Gus and Karin wake to Lars screaming at Bianca to wake up. Lars tearfully says that Bianca is unconscious. They take Bianca to the hospital. Lars later tells them that Bianca would like to be brought home. The news spreads through the town, with everyone whose life was touched by Bianca bringing flowers or food to help the family. Lars is distraught over Bianca's illness and Karin and Gus invite Bianca to join them to visit the lake. Lars and Bianca have a moment alone in which Lars kisses her for the first time and sobs on her shoulder as she dies.
Bianca is given a funeral in which all of the townspeople attend, yet at the request of Lars, nobody wears black. The mood is happier than most funerals, and after Bianca is buried, everyone leaves, except for Lars and Margo. The film ends as they talk about Bianca, and Lars asks Margo if she would like to go for a walk.
Cast
- Ryan Gosling as Lars Lindstrom
- Emily Mortimer as Karin Lindstrom
- Paul Schneider as Gus Lindstrom
- Bianca as herself
- Kelli Garner as Margo
- Patricia Clarkson as Dagmar
- R. D. Reid as Reverend Bock
Release
The film opened in limited release in 7 theaters in New York and Los Angeles[1] on October 12, 2007, grossing $90,418.[2] The DVD was released April 15th, 2008.
Critical reception
The film received generally favorable reviews from critics. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 81% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 120 reviews.[3] On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 70 out of 100, based on 32 reviews.[4]
The Wall Street Journal critic Joe Morgenstern said "It's nothing less than a miracle that the director, Craig Gillespie, and the writer, Nancy Oliver, have been able to make such an endearing, intelligent and tender comedy from a premise that, in other hands, might sustain a five-minute sketch on TV." Morgenstern also wrote, "It is also, on its own modest terms, an almost perfect movie with flawless performances." He said Lars is "played brilliantly by Ryan Gosling" and said Patricia Clarkson is "droll, dry and precise, yet mysteriously intense."[5] Peter Rainer of The Christian Science Monitor gave the film an "A−". Rainer wrote, "Director Craig Gillespie and screenwriter Nancy Oliver want to shock audiences, but not in the ways you might expect. Their movie is about loneliness and the ways in which it is mitigated by human kindness. If Frank Capra were starting out today, he might have made a film like this one." and said "Capra often front-loaded his morality plays with a heavy dose of whimsy. Gillespie and Oliver do a similar thing here."[6] Howard Karren of Premiere gave the film 3 1/2 stars and said the film "manages to explore the pain of mental illness and still be funny." Karren said "The movie takes a humanist and Capra-esque approach to all-American eccentricity, yet never seems goofy, simplistic, or maudlin." Karren condluded, "Lars's attraction to Bianca is like an audience's to an actor onscreen – the object is fake, an approximation, but for some that's better than flesh and blood. Bianca is a work of art. And so is Lars and the Real Girl."[7]
However, The New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis called the film "part comedy, part tragedy and 100 percent pure calculation, designed to wring fat tears and coax big laughs and leave us drying our damp, smiling faces as we savor the touching vision of American magnanimity. It holds a flattering mirror up to us that erases every distortion." Dargis said "Hollywood used to turn out these visions on a weekly basis; it still does on occasion, often by way of sports flicks, though no one sold this type of canned hokum like the old-school professionals." Dargis also wrote, "American self-nostalgia is a dependable racket, and if the filmmakers had pushed into the realm of nervous truth, had given Lars and the town folk sustained shadows, not just cute tics and teary moments, it might have worked." She also said, "Lars’s anguish has nothing to do with the loneliness of small towns or alienation in the modern world or even real pain" and described the character as "phony."[8] Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide gave the film 2 stars out of 4 and said "this disingenuous fable panders to misconceptions about the power of love and acceptance to drive down the demons of mental illness."[9] McDonagh wrote, "Gosling is the film's salvation: He really is good enough to make this underwritten fantasy feel as though it amounts to something. But it doesn't."[4]
Yet Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan said Oliver, Gillespie and the cast have constructed "a Frank Capra-style fable, a throwback tribute to the joys of friendship and community, around a sex toy." Turan said "The creators of this film were fiercely determined not to go so much as a millimeter over the line into sentiment, tawdriness or mockery. It's the rare film that is the best possible version of itself, but Lars fits that bill."[10] Lou Lumenick of the New York Post gave the film 3 stars out of 4 and called the film "an offbeat comedy that plays as if Preston Sturges came back to life and collaborated with the Coen Brothers on an updated version of the Jimmy Stewart film Harvey." Lumenick said the script by Nancy Oliver "eschews cheap laughs for character-driven humanist comedy, and is sensitively directed by Craig Gillespie."[11]
Associated Press film critic Christy Lemire named the film the eighth best film of 2007;[12] however, Entertainment Weekly critic Owen Glieberman named it the third worst movie of 2007.[13]
Awards and nominations
- Academy Awards
- Best Original Screenplay (Nancy Oliver)
- Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
- Best Actor (Ryan Gosling)
- Best Writer (Nancy Oliver)
- Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
- Best Actor (Ryan Gosling)
- Most Promising Filmmaker (Craig Gillespie)
- Golden Globe Awards
- Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (Ryan Gosling)
- National Board of Review Awards
- Best Screenplay – Original (Nancy Oliver) – WON (Tied with Diablo Cody for Juno)
- Satellite Awards
- Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical (Ryan Gosling) – WON
- Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical (Emily Mortimer)
- Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
- Best Screenplay, Original (Nancy Oliver)
- Screen Actors Guild Awards
- Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role (Ryan Gosling)
- Writers Guild of America Awards
- Best Original Screenplay (Nancy Oliver)
References
- ^ a b http://www.larsandtherealgirl-themovie.com/public/showtimes.html Retrieved 2007-10-16
- ^ "Lars and the Real Girl (2007) – Weekend Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-10-16.
- ^ "Lars And The Real Girl – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
- ^ a b "Lars and the Real Girl (2007): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
- ^ Joe Morgenstern (2007-10-12). "Movie Miracle: 'Lars' Is a Smart, Tender Comedy". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Peter Rainer (2007-10-12). "Plastic sheen, vibrant heart". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Howard Karren (2007-10-11). "Premiere – Lars and the Real Girl". Premiere. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Manohla Dargis (2007-10-12). "A Lonely Guy Plays House With a Mail-Order Sex Doll". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Maitland McDonagh. "Lars And The Real Girl: Review". TV Guide. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Kenneth Turan (2007-10-12). "MOVIE REVIEW 'Lars and the Real Girl'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Lou Lumenick (2007-10-12). "MIDWESTERN LOVE FOR DUMMIES". New York Post. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ David Germain (2007-12-27). "'No Country for Old Men' earns nod from AP critics". Associated Press, via Columbia Daily Tribune. Retrieved 2007-12-31.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Owen Glieberman (2007-12-21). "'The Worst Movies of 2007'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)