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Can a shy, insecure, troubled man find love with an anatomically-correct blow-up doll? If you think that sounds a bit perverted, you are not unlike many of the people that populate the film Lars and the Real Girl—at least in the beginning.

We first see Lars looking out the window of his garage apartment. Even for that simple act he puts a scarf over his face. He is clearly hiding from a world that he is uncomfortable in. Even his family seems too much for him. His sister-in-law pleads with him to come eat with her and Lars’ brother. He avoids them as much as possible. He goes to work where he speaks as little as possible to his cubicle-mate, and can’t bring himself to talk to the girl who seems to like him. He goes to church, where everyone cares for him, but his discomfort around people is obvious.

Then one day a large box is delivered to his home. That night he dresses up and preens as he keeps looking at the box. Then he announces to his brother and sister-in-law that he has a visitor that he’s met on the internet. They are thrilled—until he brings her to dinner and discover she isn’t real. He has a life-sized, anatomically-correct doll. He treats her as if she were real. He has an entire backstory of her life. They have conversations. Because both he and she are deeply religious, she stays with Lars’s family.

When his family takes him to the doctor, she advises them to go along with him. He has a delusion for some reason and needs this girl. At first the townspeople find it very humorous, but soon they too are treating Bianca as if she were a welcome visitor among them.

Obviously, something is broken in Lars. It’s not just a mental problem; rather, his life is broken in many ways. As soon as Bianca arrives, his whole demeanor changes. He is confident, friendly, happy. Having Bianca in his life adds something that was missing.

What makes the film work so well is the juxtaposition of our expectation about a sex doll and how it is used to help heal Lars. The doll is designed for sexual gratification, but Lars never uses it that way. Instead, for him, Bianca brings emotional fulfillment. It is this fact that is the key for the doctor to help lead Lars (while Bianca has a weekly treatment for low blood pressure) into more comfort in being touched and being in touch.

In First Corinthians 13, Paul notes the three cardinal virtues: hope, faith and love. This film forms that triad into a nexus that brings a new life to Lars. It isn’t only the love that he thinks he shares with Bianca. She serves as a catalyst that allows him to receive the love of all the people around him. His faith in Bianca (not just his mistaken belief that she is real, but his faith in her goodness and love) allows him to develop a faith within himself. His actions allow him the hope of fitting in to the world that he seems so estranged from.

The church plays a role in this transformation. When Lars takes Bianca to church, it is hard for people to accept her. But soon, she is central to them and even volunteers to help others. She not only bring something fresh into Lars’s life, but into the life of the whole community.

One of the ironic lines in the film is when Lars says of Bianca, “That is why God made her, to help people.” Of course, Bianca is a man-made object, and much of her life is created in Lars’s mind. But still, Bianca does represent a gracious gift to Lars and to others. In the end we discover that perhaps that is why God made each of us, to help people. If Bianca can do it with her obvious limitations, how much more can we do?