LARS AND THE REAL GIRL with Ryan Gosling, Patricia Clarkson and Emily Mortimer. Directed by Craig Gillespie.

LARS and the Real Girl is an amusing, yet touching story about a man who is afraid to live and instead creates his own version of reality after finding love in a very unlikely way.

Lars lives in a garden cottage in his brother, Gus and sister-in-law Karin’s back yard. He tends to shy away from people and only goes out to work or church.

His sister-in-law is very worried about him becoming even more withdrawn and is constantly trying to involve him with the family.

Much to her surprise Lars, played by Ryan Gosling, invites Bianca, a friend he met on the internet, to visit him.

Before they meet Bianca, Lars explains that she does not speak much English and is confined to a wheelchair but this does not prepare them for meeting her because he fails to mention that she is a life-size doll, not a real person.

Pretty soon it is obvious that Bianca is very real to Lars and that he is also very much in love with her.

Ryan does a brilliant job of playing Lars, you can see his inner growth throughout the movie as he deals with the mental illness without being patronising or insulting.

Karin (Emily Mortimer) and Gus (Paul Schneider) consult the family doctor, who explains this is a delusion he has created and they should all go along with it for his wellbeing.

Lars tells Gus and Karin Bianca is not comfortable sharing a home with him before they are married and convinces them to let her stay in their guest room which means they have to put her to bed, dress her and even bath her.

Because of Lars’s fragile mental state the whole community is soon roped into making Bianca feel welcome which makes for a few awkward yet endearing moments.

The movie also features a real life love interest Margo (Kelli Garner) who has to deal with being passed over for a doll.

Paul Schneider’s role as the confused brother is spot on, he wants to support Lars but at the same time he finds the whole situation ridiculous.

Emily’s portrayal of Karin is also very good and helps move the movie from a silly little feature to something with depth.

Its a surprisingly interesting movie that makes you think about love and friendship in a whole new way.