Ryan Gosling plays a most eligible bachelor in “Lars and the Real Girl,” my pick for this year's movie-with-the-most-heart. The girl who wins his heart, however plastic, was not on hand for yesterday's celebratory luncheon at the Four Seasons. Emily Mortimer apologized for her missing co-star, quite frankly relieved that the curvaceous, meticulously groomed Bianca who gave such a subtle, understated performance would not be upstaging her. She need not worry. Mortimer as Lars' concerned, pregnant sister-in-law is family anyone would want around. And Patricia Clarkson, so kind and non-judgmental as Lars' shrink, had the tony lunch crowd begging for appointments. While Gosling's edgy role in “Half Nelson” earned him a 2006 Academy Award nomination, as Lars he returns to the kind of head-over-heels lead he played in “The Notebook” (2004)--he and his co-star Rachel McAdams won the MTV award for Best Kiss.
In the movies, t'is the season for bloodlust: “There Will Be Blood,” “Sweeney Todd,” “No Country for Old Men,” “Before the Devil Knows You're Dead” lead the pack of absolutely must-see films that along with state-of-the-art cinematography and stars also feature as much violence as anyone can bear. So it comes as no surprise as I read in this morning's New York Times about Sidney Kimmel, the shmatte mogul and philanthropist who created a company, Kimmel Entertainment, that specializes in small, smart and daring movies such as the long-awaited “The Kite Runner” and “Lars and the Real Girl:” so far, Lars' infatuation with, l won't be coy, a blow-up doll is “deflating” box-office news. Surely, along with a steady flow of blood, you must want to know where the real love is. See this film!
Update: To see a video of luncheon at the Four Seasons, watch David Carr's Carpetbagger coverage.
just saw Lars and the Real Girl, Gosling did a great job playing out his character's psychological transitions... it was considerate of the movie's producers to leave out the predictable "small-town conflict" element as well
Posted by: patrick | April 24, 2008 at 11:31 AM