A lonely, delusional young man (Ryan Gosling) buys a life-size sex doll on the Internet and falls in love with her, telling people it's his girlfriend. His brother and sister-in-law step in to help him with his delusion.

Hollywood's boy wonder Ryan Gosling plays Lars Lindstrom, an awkward, shy but good-natured young man who lives in a small town with a loving tight-knit community. One fine day, he brings home a girl of his dreams but she isn't quite what everyone thought she would be. She turns out to be a sex doll he had bought off the Internet! However, it isn't sex he's looking to get out of her; all he wants is a loving and meaningful relationship.

The premise behind "Lars And The Real Girl" indeed comes across as slightly deranged at first, but it counteracts like an oxymoron - that when people complain about their uncommunicative and inattentive spouses, there are others out there who just wants someone who'll listen to them. Dare I say someone who will also remain young and 'elastic' for years to come?

But don't get too excited, boys. Behind the easily misinterpreted plot, "Lars" actually deviates from the sickness and perversion, and pays closer attention to the finer emotional details rather than the doll in question. It is, more than anything, an edgy 21st-century love story.

Gosling's gawkiness is naturally reflected on Lars with uncanny compatibility. No matter what the townspeople thought of Lars' unusual new love interest, the viewer is constantly sent teetering on whether he's plain crazy or perhaps just a regular guy in love.

As the doll, now named Bianca, becomes a big presence in his life, the townspeople slowly become attached to the lifeless but lovable doll, including Lars' brother and pregnant sister-in-law - all of whom think it is in Lars' interest to play along. Very soon, Bianca bonds and even participates in the lives of the residents, all of whom treat her like she's nothing short of a real person - pushing the wheelchair she's bound to, buying her flowers, clothing her, giving her a gorgeous new haircut, inviting her to parties, and yes, even talking to her.

The film, despite its unconventional mechanisms, is down-to-earth in nature. It humbly mocks the notion that the inanimate doll would be just as good in place of an actual actress, if not better. And by golly, did the doll make a difference! Imagine a real actress in Bianca's shoes and the film would have been just another countryside love story. She (or 'it') was the welcome twist.

Despite Bianca's stiff and plastic (pardon the pun) appearance, her role is one that's central to the story, providing an essence which brings together the small community that she's been brought into and most importantly, is the one who restores faith back into people's hearts. Here is where the film pushes the norm to prove that love - no matter in what shape or form - is still performed and dealt with in the same way as if it were between two living persons. And indeed, Gosling is possibly one of the very few actors who could kiss a sex doll with enough intensity to make her look so gosh-darn real that it's unbelievable.

Whatever it is, don't let the doll fool you - you'll bond with her more than you think and the next thing you know, you're walking out of the cinema with tears in your eyes.