Real Gone

I recently saw two dynamite movies back-to-back: Lars and the Real Girl & Wristcutters: A Love Story. Both films have unbelievably twisted plots that would seem ridiculous on first read. But with incredible acting and a suspension of disbelief, these stories are well executed. There’s an alternate world in each film. In Lars, an entire town is deluded into falling in love with a mannequin, while in Wristcutters, two people actually find love in a land of suicides. Wristcutters made do with a much smaller budget, somehow producing really cool set pieces, while Lars would’ve fallen completely on its face had it not been for Ryan Gosling (my new favorite, move over Jake Gyllenhaal), and both have an awesome score. And, naturally, they made me even more excited to be changing career paths.