An alienated, troubled guy, Lars, somehow convinces a town-full of people to go along with his delusion when he buys himself a “woman” via the Internet, even though Bianca is actually a life-sized doll. His brother and sister-in-law take in Bianca (because Lars and Bianca are too religious to live together) and daily bathe and dress her; a shy colleague loves Lars but accepts Bianca; and eventually neighbors elect Bianca to the school board.
Promotional materials refer to Lars as “a loveable introvert” and “sweet,” but really he is scruffy, self-absorbed and delusional. Why people find mental illness so “sweet” beats me. When Lars is overheard yelling at Bianca in the car for being so busy with her volunteer work, the town’s women are upset by how he is treating her. And I am left wondering who poisoned the village well.
Even the family doctor, played in a brow-knitted monotone by the otherwise talented Patricia Clarkson, somberly sees Bianca (Lars transports her everywhere in a wheelchair) for a weekly examination due to unspecified health concerns. This ruse allows Lars and the physician to work out a few things at his leisure while he waits for Bianca. No invoices seem to change hands and apparently the good doctor has no other patients. Even the professionals – including the vicar – think that abject dishonesty and mass dissembling are just the tonics for our poor loner.
The premise seemed to have a great deal of promise, especially in the hands of writer Nancy Oliver, who did a magnificent job writing the TV series Six Feet Under. The actor, Ryan Gosling, was nominated for a best actor Oscar for his work in Half Nelson (2006), about a drugged-out inner-city teacher who irresponsibly dumps his problems on his favorite student Drey, a 13-year-old African-American who has already had to grow up too fast. Is Gosling getting typecast as a character who still manages to get pampered by the women in his life no matter how dysfunctional, charm-less or estranged he is?
One postscript about editing. At an hour and 46 minutes, this film is about an hour and 16 minutes too long. A tight short may have worked, but at this length I couldn’t stop wondering why the film industry has gone the way of publishing: no editing.
Why people find mental illness so “sweet” beats me.
How do you think the last 3 Republican presidents got elected, hmm?
But seriously, a doll on the local school board? It'd do less damage than some of the living, breathing (?) human (?) beings who've held similar positions.
As for inane situation comedies, they're as American as pizza made with ketchup and Velveeta.
Posted by: C.S. Lewiston | 01 January 2008 at 03:23
At least one person, probably with perfect justification, thinks that I'm just too literal for this film.
Posted by: Sue | 01 January 2008 at 08:52