Craig Gillespie's Lars and the Real Girl explores the relationship between a mild-mannered, yet socially nervous Wisconsinite and a sex doll, and the community's reaction and attempt to deal with this. While the writing is sublime, nominated for Best Original Screenplay, and the directing is well-executed, the acting by the titular protagonist, played by Ryan Gosling, offers a complicated and introspective look into mental illness and dealing with grief. However, a role that deserve recognition for her maternal and calm change to the protagonist's pregnant sister-in-law is Emily Mortimer as Karin. To evaluate one's acting techniques, not only do one pay attention to the dialogue, but their body, blocking, and usage and understanding of spaces they exist in. In books, Audition by Michael Shurtliffe and The Great Acting Teachers and Their Methods by Richard Brestoff, both acting teachers reference great acting leaders like theorist Jerzy Grotowski to explain the different processes of an actor to fully emerge in the character and the scenario, such as using tangible actions, reacting to the community, and facial emotions. Mortimer's performance demonstrates these acting techniques specifically in a dinner scene featuring her husband, Gus, her brother-in-law, Lars, and "the real girl", Bianca, to which the first two meets the latter.