Lars and the Real Girl Analysis

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An important thing to note is something quite subtle in the film, Lars’ proxemics to his family opposed to Bianca. Proxemics are a type of nonverbal communication through the use of physical distance. Lars seems quite partial to distancing himself from his family, usually standing quite far if he can help it. He would talk close or lean in to Bianca without fear or hesitation. In the very first scene of the film, Karin goes to Lars’ door and when Lars answers, he doesn’t open the screen door, not allowing her to get close in proximity. Later, after bringing Bianca to a party, he willingly touches her hand and leans in close to talk to her. This may not be something you might notice right away during the film, but it definitely speaks loud when you see how Lars values his space and tends to make it a large personal space. Nonverbal communication really is as important as verbal communication, and Gus seems to not perceive his nonverbal signs, where Karin acknowledges and immediately shows worry.

This film is an excellent example of relationships between people, interpersonal communication. Particularly the relationship between Lars and his family; they show problems with the lack of needs and intimacy, the importance of nonverbal communication, and the different types of attachment styles. So many scenes are perfect examples of these types of communication. It also shows how Lars’ relationship with his family improved and changed over time, as his deprived brain healed itself. His delusion led to many resolutions in the film, such as Gus admitting fault for Lars’ lack of normality, or Lars’ painful reaction to being touched. Lars changed his entire life by not directly communicating that he had a problem, but by showing it.

All in all, this movie was an amazing choice for the class. I had no problem watching the movie or writing about it. It had such an array of relationships with the main character, making it hard to choose a relationship, which isn’t a bad thing. It had examples all throughout the film that were directly congruent to a lot of concepts in the book. There were multiple directions in which you could take the analysis, and not run out of examples. I couldn’t have chosen a more intriguing and suitable movie as an example of interpersonal communication than Lars and the Real Girl.

References

Gillespie, C. (Director), Kimmel, S., Cameron, J., & Aubrey, S. (Producers), & Oliver, N. (Writer). (2007). Lars and the real girl [Motion picture on DVD]. United States: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

McCornack, S. (2016). Reflect & relate: an introduction to interpersonal communication (4th ed.). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.