I watched Lars and The Real Girl last night.  I don't want to give any of the movie away, but I think it should be sought out.  Don't be scared off by the life-size doll.  It's not what you think.

In the past two movies I have seen, Driving Lessons and Lars and the Real Girl, religious communities are central to the protagonist's life.  In Driving Lessons the hypocrisy of the community almost destroys the protagonist.  The opposite happens in Lars and the Real Girl.  The community of faith saves Lars from destroying himself.

The answers to Lars' problems are not textbook.  Lars is an individual who needs specialized care.  The movie forces us to consider that mental illness is reedemable, and that the cause of mental illness, whether chemical, biological, genetic, or environmental, is not important.  As the doctor/psychologist ("they need to be both up this far north") says to Lars' brother: it is Lars' problem to deal with, you just need to be there to help him out. ... more