Mental Disorders In Lars And The Real Girl

In the movie Lars and the Real Girl, the protagonist Lars imagines that a mannequin is a real, living person. Throughout the movie, it is apparent that Lars has some sort of mental disorder. The film delves into his mental state, the causes of his condition, and how his state is treated. To begin with, Lars demonstrates signs of having traits of various mental disorders on multiple occasions. At the start of the movie, it is clear that Lars is a fairly antisocial person. He tries to avoid having breakfast and dinner with his brother and his wife. This could be a result of having avoidant personality disorder as he is socially inept. He also shows traits of schizoid personality disorder. During his first encounter with Margo at the church, he shows that he avoids relationships and shows little emotion. People with schizoid personality disorder are known for seeking jobs that require little social contact. It can be argued that Lars’s job fits that description as he has his own cubicle and is somewhat isolated. After Lars begins to imagine that Bianca is a real person, he begins to show more characteristics of schizotypal personality …show more content…
It is mentioned that his mother died when Lars was very young; this could have a huge impact on Lars’s mental health in his adulthood. After his mother’s death, Lars and his brother were raised by their father who did not really know how to raise two children. When talking about Lars’s distancing and avoidant personality, his brother mentions that “dad was like that too,” implying that Lars’s antisocial characteristics stemmed from his father. Lars’s brother also apologizes for leaving him and his father. The loss of Lars’s mother and brother may have contributed to his fear of abandonment, resulting in him not wanting to get close to anyone else. These events in his childhood are likely a prime cause of the way he acts later in