Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

"Guy loves a sex doll and everyone goes along with it" is what I knew about this film going in. Is what I thought I knew about this film, I should say. And, while that one line synopsis is technically correct, the movie is so much more.

In actuality, it's about community love - kindness and patience that's willing to be uncomfortable. It's about a group of people working together to let someone do what he needs to do in order to, as the producer said, "join life." I loved the way the inhabitants of this small town all grew a little bit in their understanding of themselves and each other through this communal exercise in compassion.

Truly surprising and moving.

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