What a darling and outstanding performance once more delivered by the enormously quiet and sensitive Ryan Gosling! I wouldn't have watched this film if it wasn't recommended to me by a classmate and my acting coach. Appearing outwardly to be mostly a comedy, this 2007 film was in fact much more dramatic and sorrowful.
Mental illness is a real thing, and often times not talked about or dealt with. We've witnessed another great story of such content in 'Silver Linings Playbook' which obtained great reviews, awards and nominees and 'Lars and the Real Girl' hangs hugely around those same lines. Many times we ask ourselves, what is acceptable and normal, and less times asked how can we make it right. The world is sick. And we'll be witnessing many more of people reaching their breaking points due to a lack of love and communication in our present time. This film shines light on a terribly important topic of what loss and lack of love can do to an individual and how support, trust and patience brings that light to live again.
Written by Nancy Oliver and directed by Craig Gillespie (who usually directs commercials), they were able to bring huge amounts of comedy into a tragic and heart-warming situation. With a run-time of 106 minutes and a budget of $12 million USD, even though they weren't able to make back their financial output, they were able to gain support by great actors, Gosling, English Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider and Patricia Clarkson to name a few, and garnered 8 wins, and 17 nominations including 1 Oscar nominee for this unconventional and lovely story.
Filmed in Ontario, Canada, the snowy and dreary weather made for an excellent palette to showcase the feelings and emotions exhibited in this journey of love, acceptance and self-discovery.
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