Lars And The Real Girl – Craig Gillespie
Delusion: a peculiar belief or impression that is firmly maintained despite being
contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument,
typically a symptom of mental disorder.
Coursework
1. Is Bianca a “real girl”? Discuss.
The answer depends on different perceptions of Bianca. According to Dagmar,
the doctor, “Of course she is. She’s right out there”.
However, there are those who simply see Bianca as a sex doll or an object and
not a real person in any sense of the word. She appears to be lifelike and is
according to Lars’s work friend, “anatomically correct” even though she is made
of rubber.
Albeit Bianca cannot talk, walk or breath like a real person to Lars she is much
more. For instance, he calls her by name and in doing so immediately gives a type
of identity as if she was a real girl. Lars also creates a background for Bianca
saying that she is a Missionary from Brazil therefore giving her a profession and
a past. Lars creates false yet convenient scenarios involving Bianca. For example,
while travelling to America she had her luggage and wheelchair stolen. The latter
now conveniently explains why Bianca cannot walk as a normal person. Lars also
has conversations with Bianca therefore giving her a voice even though other
people cannot hear her speak. He also takes her to the local doctor for a check
up. This is yet a further attempt to treat Bianca like a normal everyday person
who may or may not have a medical condition. On leaving the clinic a boy is seen
perched on Bianca’s knee who had obviously been placed there by Lars who
says, “She loves kids”. These are all attempts by Lars to validate Bianca and have
her accepted by the community around her as a real entity.
Basically, Bianca is a delusion that Lars has created as a type of coping
mechanism that makes up for certain deficiencies in his life, such as his lack of
social skills, his shy demeanor or his awkward inability to communicate with
women.
2. Profile the ‘reality’ of Lars.
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Reclusive, living alone and single
Is generally shy and likes to keep a barrier or distance between himself
and other people
Exhibits childlike tendencies. For example, his behavior in the church
with the figurines
Has a nervous twitch in the form of a heavy blink
Possesses a grey security blanket/ scarf that was knitted by his mother
while she was pregnant
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Has great difficulty in communicating with Margot and Karen and women
in general
Purchases a sex doll by the name of Bianca and in doing so creates a
delusion as a way of compensating for deficiencies in his life
Lars’s decision to purchase the sex doll may have been caused by Karen’s
pregnancy
3. How do you think Gus and Karen feel when they meet Bianca for the first
time? Explain.
4. How does Lars begin to change after meeting Bianca?
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He is more talkative/ communicative
He is more opinionative
He is late to work, suggesting that he is less obsessed with his habitual
routine
He serenades Bianca while on the picnic
5. Why does Lars suddenly jump when Dagmar touches him on the neck?
Explain.
Lars is desensitized to the feminine touch of women. Because Lars’s mother
sadly died while giving birth to him he was not surrounded by the unconditional
love that we all take for granted. Of course Lars’s father was there, but because of
the tragic death of his wife, Lars’s mother, he may have become traumatized
himself, detached from reality, unable to warm to Lars, possibly seeing Lars as
the cause of his wife’s death. Even Gus admits, “it was cruel to leave you here
with the old man and for that I’m sorry”.
6. Why is the conversation between Lars and Gus about becoming a man an
important one? Explain.
It is here for the first time that Lars makes a conscious decision to grow up and
accept the responsibilities associated with entering into adulthood. This would
also imply that he is considering ending his delusion with Bianca. There has been
some unspoken business between the two brothers and this conversation sees
both men coming to terms with their past and moving on. Whether it be Lars’s
decision to learn more about adulthood from his older brother or Gus’s apology
for leaving Lars with his bereaved father after the death of their mother.
7. How do Lars and his friends try and end his delusion? Explain.
Lars’s friends are made up of various people within the community who soon
start to vie for Bianca’s time, whether it be taking her out to have her hair done
or Bianca deciding to volunteer at the hospital. Bianca’s decisions to do her own
thing means that Lars for some of the time is by himself. Slowly but surely Lars’s
friends are weaning him off Bianca and the delusion that he once clung to. His
awakening soon becomes apparent when Lars begins to enact arguments with
Bianca. These domestic disputes occur both privately and publically. The
conversation between the two becomes more one sided with only Lars doing the
talking. When visiting Dagmar he admits that Bianca has turned down his
marriage proposal. In turn, Lars now begins to show an interest in Margot, and
when she conveniently breaks up with Eric (another kind of delusion that she
too has created and now ended), Lars begins to seriously consider doing the
same with Bianca. To further the end of his delusion Lars resorts to extreme
measures. One evening Bianca falls ill and the next morning the household
awakes to Lars screaming, “WAKE UP! WAKE UP!” Bianca is then rushed to
hospital and it is later revealed that she is dying. All of this is by Lars’s own
invention.
8. What is your favorite scene from the film and why?
The scene when people in community meet with Karen and Gus to talk about
Lars’s condition and how everyone can help. At first people are negative and
dismiss Lars as crazy, but then Mrs. Gunner speaks, “Oh, for heaven’s sake,
what’s the big deal? Sally, your cousin puts dresses on his cats. Hazel, your
nephew gives all his money to a UFO club. And, Arnie, everyone knows that your
first wife was a klepto”. Her words demonstrate that many people exhibit
idiosyncratic behavior and that they should not judge Lars because he treats a
sex doll as a real person. It also demonstrates how the world is made up of many
different or eccentric kinds of people and that’s what makes the human race so
interesting. We would be very boring if we were all the same.
9. Choose a scene that confuses you and would like to know more about.
I am confused about the scene whereby Lars and Bianca are at the party and Lars
is dancing slowly by himself???
10. Does Lars really think that Bianca is real? Explain.
There are times throughout the movie whereby Lars is alone with Bianca. For
example, when they go on picnic and Lars serenades Bianca, when Lars is seen to
be arguing in the car with Bianca, and when they sit by the lake toward the end
of movie and Lars then kisses Bianca for the last time. All of these scenes are
private and not public and yet Lars continues the illusion even though he could
revert to treating Bianca as a sex doll but he does not. This suggests that he
treats Bianca as if she is a real girl.
11. Why and how do everyday people deny or avoid reality?
Why?
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General trauma such as a death in the family or of a friend/ break up with
a partner
Life can become too hard/ complicated so people detach themselves from
reality to avoid stress or having a breakdown
Mental illness such as anxiety or depression causes people to deny reality
How?
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People have been known to drink excessive amounts of alcohol and/ or
take drugs, to forget. Some people believe that drugs creates another
reality via the high of drug use.
People watch movies as a form of escapism
Others go shopping and spend copious amounts of money even though
they are broke and falsely believe that a credit card means they have a
limitless supply of money at their disposal.
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Interesting or noteworthy scenes:
Karen jumping on Lars’ back to force him to come to dinner
When a mysterious parcel arrives for Lars
When Gus and Karen meet Bianca for the first time
The church meeting where the elderly woman points out that there is
nothing wrong with Lars’ condition as many other people exhibit forms of
idiosyncratic behaviour such dressing cats, UFO clubs, being a
kleptomaniac (uncontrollable tendency to steal things), etc.
5. When the doctor touches Lars and he jumps
6. When Lars and Bianca turn up at the party and everyone stares – it is an
awkward yet brave moment
7. The meeting with the doctor where Lars comes to terms with the death of
his mother and that she died while giving birth to Lars
8. When Gus expresses his concern to Karen about Lars.
9. Lars and Bianca arguing
10. When Gus confesses to Lars that he should not have left Lars with his
father after the death of their mother, “he was too sad and heartbroken”.
11. When Lars and Margo go bowling and at the end of the evening he shakes
her hand
12. When Lars yells, “wake up…she won’t wake up”!
13. The way in which the community is shocked and upset by the news that
Bianca is gravely sick
14. When Lars wakes to find the get well cards and flowers from people in the
community who hope that Bianca will recover from her sickness
15. Bianca’s death and subsequent funeral
16. Lars asking Margo, “do you want to go for a walk”?
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Confusing scenes that require clarification:
1. Lars is reading to Bianca when the camera cuts to Karen in the other
room who is feeling her pregnant belly. Lars suddenly realises that he
cannot have children with Bianca.
2. Weaning Lars off Bianca by taking her away for the evening therefore
forcing Lars back to normality and reality. Interestingly, Lars then has an
argument with Bianca about their original plans to play Scrabble. This
shows how Lars is in conflict with his deluded state of mind.
3. The scenes involving Lars being counselled and confiding in the doctor,
feature a Lars who is mostly himself and not his deluded self. He still
refers to Bianca but is often talking about himself.
4. Bianca’s funeral represents a form of belated grieving for both Lars and
Gus. It is also the death of the deluded state. Death often brings people
back to reality and reminds us of our own mortality.
5. The death of Bianca when Lars carries Bianca into the water. This scene is
ambiguous and has multiple meanings. It can be interpreted as a
drowning or baptism. Either way it where Bianca dies and is quickly
followed by her funeral.
 Character profiles:
1. Lars – a single man, living alone and who exhibits some anti-social
behaviour especially in the company of women of whom he struggles to
communicate with. Lars is withdrawn, shy and lacking confidence. The
death of his mother still deeply affects Lars and he owns a security type
blanket she made for him while Lars was still in her womb. Lars’ mother
died while giving birth to Lars. Consequently, Lars feels partly responsible
and carries a guilt or burden that causes him to suffer from anxiety. He is
continually seen with the blanket around his neck. He reverts to
childhood tendencies by returning to the lake where he use to play with
his brother. Lars does not like to be touched and describes the sensation
like a “burn”. When the doctor attempts to touch Lars on the neck he
flinches.
2. Bianca – appears to be a blow up sex doll that Lars ordered on the
Internet. Lars introduces Bianca to Gus and Karen as a ‘real girl’ who
speaks little English, requires a wheelchair and is a missionary on
sabbatical. During dinner he invents an elaborate story describing how
Bianca’s wheelchair and luggage were both stolen. He asks Karen for
clothes for Bianca. Later Bianca becomes gravely ill and dies.
3. Gus – is Lars’ older brother and is married to Karen. He is very different to
Lars and struggles to get along with him. At first he does not truly
understand his brothers condition and dismisses him as crazy, but as the
movie progresses he shows genuine concern and emotion toward Lars
4. Karin – is married to Gus and she acts on her maternal instincts by
wanting Lars to moved in with them so they can take care of him. She
invites Lars over for dinner but he declines. Lars accepts after Karen
physically forces him. Her pregnancy causes Lars to remember his own
mother and how she died.
5. Dagmar – is the doctor who counsels Lars. During these sessions Lars is
mostly himself and not his deluded self. He still refers to Bianca but is
often. She plays a major role in bringing Lars back to reality through a
number of therapy sessions.
6. Margo – is a work colleague of Lars. They both collect figurines and go to
church together. As his confidence begins to grow, Lars slowly displays an
attraction toward Margo. When Margo introduces Lars to her boyfriend
Erik, he becomes jealous. Margo later breaks up with Erik and she goes
bowling with Lars;
 Themes:
1. Mental illness/ Delusion(al) - an idiosyncratic belief or impression that is
firmly maintained despite being contradicted by what is generally
accepted as reality or rational argument, typically a symptom of mental
disorder. The doctor makes this diagnosis and believes Lars is
compensating something? His actions could also be cry for help as he
obviously struggles to communicate his true feelings.
2. Acceptance – the entire town community in some way or another, accept
Bianca by pretending that she is real.
3. Becoming a man/ growing up – Lars has a conversation with his big
brother Gus about the facts of life.
Quotes
1. “She’s really just one of the girls”.
2. “I wish I had a woman who couldn’t talk”
3. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, what’s the big deal? Sally, your cousin puts dresses
on his cats. Hazel, your nephew gives all his money to a UFO club. And,
Arnie, everyone knows that your first wife was a klepto”.
4. “The real question is what would Jesus do?”
5. “You grow up when you decide to do right, even when it hurts”.
6. “There’s still a kid inside, but grow up when you decide to do right, and
not what’s right for you, what’s right for everybody”.
7. “Like you don’t jerk people around and you don’t cheat on your woman,
and you take care of your family, and you admit when you’re wrong”.
8. “That’s what people do when tragedy strikes, they come over and sit” –
Old Lady
9. “WAKE UP! WAKE UP!”
Observations
“The flowers are not real so they will last forever”. The irony is that Bianca is not
real so like the flowers she will last forever. Her eternalness makes her all the
more amazing.