Dan in Real Life

Following the death of his loving wife, Dan Burns (Steve Carrel) is a single father left to raise his three daughters as best he can. Naturally, his parenting skills are lacking, and whilst he does the best he can, he cannot shake off the angst and hurt his wife’s death has caused him.

When, one day, he meets a stranger in Marie (Juliette) in a remote book shop close to his family home, he believes he has finally found that special person worthy enough to take the place of his wife. However, as (bad) luck would have it, she is already seeing Dan’s brother, Mitch (Dane Cook), and life just seems to get worse for him, as he’s forced to spend a family weekend with her.

What should be a fairly straightforward rom com, is infact a superbly realised commentary on the pain, emotions and sense of loss which accompany the death of a loved one, let alone one’s wife. The thing that puzzled me about the film when first watching it was that the director apparently came out and stated that this is in fact a romantic comedy, and sure enough the trailer tries to make you think it is.

However, to call this a run of the mill rom com is doing it a massive disservice. Carrel provides a magnificent performance, something he is not a stranger to, having blended drama and comedy to brilliant effect in The Office, and really showcasing the abilities which make him one of the best performers in Hollywood. Binoche is suitably gorgeous as well, it must be said, bringing to the table a wonderfully confused but oh so French innocence to the role.

When the amazingly beautiful Emily Blunt is brought into the story as a piece of bait for Dan, she lights up the screen with her natural looks and pearlescent eyes. If there’s any criticism of the film, it’s that she doesn’t feature enough, though one could suggest that this is down to the very idea of her as the elusive female, the stunning and mysterious figure who provides the charm but never really ends up being the star of the piece.

Without waffling on any further, it should be stated that Dan in Real Life is not a by the numbers film in any way, shape or form. It’s a film that deals with heartbreak, but doesn’t patronise. The ensemble cast does a decent job, but no one outside of the main three or four really delivers anything approaching a notable performance. Regardless, this is a film which seemingly slipped the mainstream net, and deserves recognition.

8/10