15 years on from Ryan Gosling’s remarkable performance in ‘Lars and the Real Girl’
Time just keeps swinging on by, doesn’t it? Proof of this fact comes from the startling realisation that 15 years have now passed since Ryan Gosling’s excellent performance as Lars Lindstrom in Lars and the Real Girl in 2007.
Lars and the Real Girl was written by Nancy Oliver and directed by Craig Gillespie. Gosling plays a shy and introverted man from a small Wisconsin town who lives in his brother’s garage. Lars soon falls in love with a woman online and invites her to live with him.
Lars is of the understanding that the woman, Bianca, is a half-Brazilian, half-Danish wheelchair-bound religious missionary. However, when she arrives, Lars’ family can clearly see that she is, in fact, a replica of a woman ordered from ‘Real Girl Enterprises’. Lars, though, maintains that she is real and continues to treat her as such.
Discussing his onscreen relationship with Bianca, Gosling said: “I really grew to be quite fond of Bianca. We had a real bond. To me, the concept of the movie is the idea of bonding. I had to have some kind of bond with her. It didn’t feel so strange. I mean, it was a unique experience to make this movie, probably one of the most unique experiences I will ever have.”
He added: “As soon as Craig said action, it was just her and I. It is a lonely time between action and cut. She was there with some kind of support. It was just me and her. So I bonded to her and became relaxed when she was around. I looked forward to our scenes together.”
After Lars brings Bianca home and offers her the love and support he believes she deserves, his family naturally become worried. Lars feels guilty for the fact that his birth coincides with the death of his mother, so at the suggestion of a psychotherapist, the family go along with Lars’ belief in the hope that he will be able to heal the grief and loss he has felt for most of his life.
Gosling also acknowledged the romantic nature of the film, despite the peculiarity of its expression. He said: “To me it is romantic. It is romantic, because I have the idea that love is not a transaction. That it is something that is yours to give and it doesn’t have to be given back in order for you to give it. It is a beautiful idea.”
He added, “I think that is a really romantic idea. A child’s love for his teddy bear is romantic because it is a thing, but he loves it. If he lost it, he would be heartbroken. That love is real! I think that’s a beautiful idea that rarely gets explored in film.”
Check out the trailer for the film below.
