Is this a TREND? I'm like going totally confused to Confusicus here.*
In a couple of recent-ish films I have noticed that the central characters were men in their early thirties, who were clearly odd in some developmental sense, but that this remains unacknowledged throughout these films. I could be wrong on Lars and The Real Girl but there was definitely something odd about Joaquin Phoenix's character in Two Lovers. The guy was monosyllabic, and withdrawn, and there was no explanation as to why he was still living in his parents' apartment despite his age. I guess the cinematography, and design - dark colours, claustrophobic interiors - didn't help.
By wrong on Lars, I mean that his strange behaviour - you know, hanging out with his sex doll, taking her to Sunday service, inviting her out for dinner - was humoured by the local villagers. He was supposed to be traumatised by a family death, but surely falling in love with a sex doll would be also be a cause for concern? There just seem to be fewer contemporary films about relationships between men and women where they function as intellectual equals (the Seth Rogen-starring films Knocked Up and Zack and Mirri Make a Porno are totally guilty of perpetuating this). I think dick-flicks are er, filling that void - men can be 'normal' with other men.
* I stole this from a really bad terrible TV programme.
