The ‘Real’ issue

Noel Murray [“Indie Flicks With a Quirk Ethic,” April 13] takes shots at Nancy Oliver’s fine script for “Lars and the Real Girl,” claiming “the movie is overly coy in the way it treats the central relationship. Put bluntly: Lars and his sex doll never have sex.” Gee, I’m sorry you were disappointed. Were you expecting porn?

The whole point of the story is that emotionally scarred Lars is desperate to make a human connection, and the people of his town care enough about him to “befriend” his new girlfriend in order to guide him back to a healthier and more fulfilling life. Murray attacks Oliver’s small town as quaint and unrealistically compliant; he fails to understand that Oliver uses our perception of Capra-esque townspeople to make their group effort amusingly poignant. The irony of their actions serves the story, in a deceptively simple and touching way.

It would be a shame if Murray’s ignorance deters viewers from enjoying it on DVD.

Meg Jackson

Santa Monica