Plot Summary

Lars and the Real Girl tells the gentle and unconventional story of a socially withdrawn man whose unusual relationship forces an entire community to redefine empathy and acceptance.

Lars (Ryan Gosling) is painfully shy and emotionally isolated, living in near-total withdrawal from human connection. One day, he announces that he wants to introduce his new girlfriend to his brother Gus (Paul Schneider) and Gus’s wife Karin (Emily Mortimer). The couple prepares a dinner, only to be stunned by the revelation that Lars’s “girlfriend” is, in fact, a lifelike doll he treats as a real person.

Deeply concerned about Lars’s mental health and unsure how to explain the situation to their neighbors, Gus and Karin seek professional help. They turn to the family doctor, Dagmar Berman (Patricia Clarkson), who proposes an unconventional but compassionate approach: instead of confronting Lars’s delusion, the community should support him through it.

As Lars’s imagined relationship unfolds, the town gradually embraces Bianca as if she were real, allowing Lars the emotional space he needs to heal. Through warmth, subtle humor, and emotional restraint, Lars and the Real Girl explores loneliness, mental health, and the transformative power of kindness, showing how understanding can emerge in the most unexpected ways.