"Lars" (Ryan Gosling) is a shy and geeky lad who lives adjacent to his much more outgoing brother "Gus" (Paul Schneider) and his wife "Karin" (Emily Mortimer). He dresses like a gent twice his age, sports a slightly creepy looking moustache and has never had a girlfriend. Well imagine everyone's surprise when he arrives home with a woman. A woman for whom latex isn't just a turn on, it's actually her skin. Clearly the opportunities for a more physical relationship between himself and "Bianca" are somewhat limited - aside from being uncomfortably squeaky too, but he isn't looking for sex. He's looking for something deep and meaningful. Has he completely lost the plot? Well perhaps unsurprisingly the town - led by his loving but concerned sibling, think he has but as he continues to take his love desperately seriously, and the something occurs that really does deflate his ardours, the entire village begins to change attitudes and what initially appears to be a comedy of people laughing at him becomes something altogether more touching and revelatory of what love actually can mean. Gosling has always been prepared to try something new with his roles, and here he masters the nerdyness of his character engagingly throughout - even if at times it does make you cringe with embarrassment. There are also strong supporting contributions from Mortimer and Schneider as they help anchor the ridiculousness of the story with some sort of humanity and along the way there is plenty to smile at as "Lars" emerges from his cocoon and actually starts to associate with a real girl - "Margo" (Kelli Garner) who might just prove to be his soul-mate? In many ways this rather sums up the stresses and strains felt by many during the ritual processes of courtship that human beings put themselves through; of the societal pressures to conform and to satisfy it's norms that we feel we must always comply with. Nancy Oliver's writing allows us to enjoy the scenario as it unfolds whilst also coming to our own, possibly sympathetic, conclusions and I did enjoy this.
