I'm pretty sure that most folks who watch this will have the intended notions of what it is all about, what with the well established film templates of welcome delusion and the visitor who transforms a town.
But I'd like to point out one narrative device that makes this work as well as it does. Its the fact that the story is presented through the eyes of different women we see. There's a sort of marvelous mix.
One is the one we know a lot about. She's the pregnant sister in law played by the under-appreciated Emily Mortimer. Her pregnancy, we learn, triggers a problem.
A second is Patricia Clarkson's town doctor. She's the detective, our questioner. These sequences "explain" the story.
Then we have a love interest. This clumsy girl is played by Kelli Garner who every other time we've seen her has been boobs and smile. She's the woman who is as clueless as Lars. This character is all simple mannerisms and no soul, but that's just right.
And finally there is the doll, who we surprisingly adopt as a character as readily as the town does. She does have presence and is a surrogate for an offscreen girl. Her face does actually change throughout the film, these minor changes having a profound effect because they are so subtle.
These four women orbit around each other and the story, discovering and reporting various bits about it. Lars is there, but the story isn't about him at all; its about how stories are seen.
Its good writing, good narrative dynamics. You should see it on that score.
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.
But I'd like to point out one narrative device that makes this work as well as it does. Its the fact that the story is presented through the eyes of different women we see. There's a sort of marvelous mix.
One is the one we know a lot about. She's the pregnant sister in law played by the under-appreciated Emily Mortimer. Her pregnancy, we learn, triggers a problem.
A second is Patricia Clarkson's town doctor. She's the detective, our questioner. These sequences "explain" the story.
Then we have a love interest. This clumsy girl is played by Kelli Garner who every other time we've seen her has been boobs and smile. She's the woman who is as clueless as Lars. This character is all simple mannerisms and no soul, but that's just right.
And finally there is the doll, who we surprisingly adopt as a character as readily as the town does. She does have presence and is a surrogate for an offscreen girl. Her face does actually change throughout the film, these minor changes having a profound effect because they are so subtle.
These four women orbit around each other and the story, discovering and reporting various bits about it. Lars is there, but the story isn't about him at all; its about how stories are seen.
Its good writing, good narrative dynamics. You should see it on that score.
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.