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PG-13
3 out of 4 stars

An endearing oddity in a small Midwestern town, lonely Lars (Ryan Gosling) orders a life sized doll online, names her Bianca, and begins dating her while she stays with Lars’s brother Gus (Paul Schneider) and pregnant sister-in-law Karin (Emily Mortimer). The family doctor and psychologist (Patricia Clarkson) advises the town to welcome Bianca and indulge Lars’s delusion, hopefully allowing him to play out his fantasy and get on with his life. Invisible to Lars, Margo (Kelly Garner) waits for him through his imaginary relationship, hoping that if it ends he will finally see her.

While promised to be a comedy, director Craig Gillespie’s tender story of mental illness is actually something much more important. Though there are a few laughs, the beauty of the film lies in the touching moments where the town’s love for Lars leads them to embrace Bianca with open arms. By far the most remarkable facet of Lars is the humanization of the doll, to the extent that you care for her almost as much as Lars does.

While overall an excellent film that reminds you of the potential kindness of humanity, Lars does come with a constant inkling that it could have been just a little better. Kelly Garner’s presence is sweet, but slightly annoying, and her acting and costume reflects an “I’m so artsy” mentality that made me prefer the doll as Lars’s potential life partner.

The rest of the characters lack this irksome quality, however, and Emily Mortimer is so goddamn charming that you almost can’t believe she played the dreadful “careful, my bones” Phoebe on 30 Rock. A bit too sentimental, and much too obvious in the deeply embedded causes for mental illness, Lars isn’t life changing, but it is certainly worth seeing.