By Gregg Shapiro

“Lars and the Real Girl” (MGM Home Entertainment)—There were probably more than a few people put off by the perceived premise of “Lars and The Real Girl,” i.e., a social misfit and his relationship with the life-sized, anatomically correct doll he purchased over the Internet.

But Nancy Oliver’s exceptional screenplay is a multi-layered affair. It’s a story about family—a painfully shy brother named Lars (the always intriguing Ryan Gosling) lives in the garage on the property of his older brother Gus (Paul Schneider) and sister-in-law Karin (Emily Mortimer), with limited interaction in spite of Karin’s efforts to change that. It’s also about workplace relationships and dynamics, ranging from the friendly receptionist Cindy (Karen Robinson) to co-worker Margo (Kelli Garner), and about making do with an obnoxious cubicle mate.

Shortly after said cubicle mate shows Lars a website featuring the customizable “real girl” sex dolls, a UPS truck delivers one to Lars’s house. Suddenly Lars, who used to refuse meals with Gus and Karin, does a reversal and asks to come to dinner with his new girlfriend. When he shows up with Bianca the doll in tow, you can only imagine the reaction that he gets. But watching his interactions with Bianca, Gus and Karin realize that it is no laughing matter and convince Lars to see Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson), a doctor. Diagnosed as delusional, Dagmar begins to see Lars on a regular basis, often accompanied by Bianca. During these sessions, Dagmar is able to help Lars in surprising and ultimately life-changing ways. As he goes through his journey of self-discovery and healing, with the help of the townspeople, his co-workers and the members of his church, who treat both Bianca and Lars’s relationship with the doll as if they were real, viewers find themselves caught up by Lars’ transformation.

In its own quirky and offbeat fashion, “Lars and the Real Girl” is about mental illness and the lengths people will go to in order to help (or save) someone in need, and it handles the subject with equal amounts of humor and seriousness. DVD bonus features include the featurette “The Real Story of Lars and the Real Girl,” featuring interviews with the cast, director Craig Gillespie and writer Oliver.

“The Golden Compass” (New Line Home Entertainment)—The theoretical existence of “many universes” and “many earths” existing parallel to one another, in addition to the one in “The Golden Compass,” in which there is a special bond between animals and humans, sets the tone for this controversial fantasy feature.

Religious and political overtones abound, as the ruling powers of the Magisterium, intolerant of any truth but their own (sound familiar?), become aware of the existence of one remaining Alethiometer, a truth-telling golden compass, and one who can read it, namely young orphan Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards). Ignorant of her powers, Lyra and her shape-shifting dæmon (alternately a ferret, a bird, a moth, a mouse, a cat) Pan (voiced by Freddie Highmore) spends her days running amok. As her “uncle” Asriel (a scruffy Daniel Craig) describes her, Lyra is “impossible to educate, a miscreant and a liar.” But Asriel has other things on his mind and heads off on a journey that takes him north to the kingdom of the Ice Bears.

Meanwhile, there are other forces that have taken an interest in Lyra, including Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman, getting better at playing baddies, as in “Margot at the Wedding”). A friend of Jordan College, where Lyra lives and is looked after, Coulter (is it any coincidence that the female villain shares a surname with right-wing nutjob Ann?) takes Lyra under her wing as her assistant, all the while setting her sites on the Alethiometer. Meanwhile, some of Lyra’s friends, many of whom are orphans and the children of servants, are disappearing at an alarming rate, taken by the mysterious Gobblers. Soon Lyra, now living with Coulter and her Golden Monkey dæmon, gets wind of her caretaker’s plot, which involves intercision (separating humans from their dæmons) and the Gobblers, and escapes into the streets.

Rescued by the gypsy-like Gyptians, Lyra teams up with Iorek (voiced by out actor Sir Ian McKellan), a disgraced Ice Bear prince she helps restore to his rightful place. And Lyra, who is meant to play a major part in what is to come, is returned to her rightful path. If all this sounds like a lot of set-up, it is. While rumors of a sequel to “The Golden Compass” are plentiful, if not concrete, one hopes that the movie’s “open” ending will eventually achieve some sort of closure and a message of hope for the future. The bounty of bonus features includes commentary by writer/director Chris Weitz of “Chuck and Buck” fame), three documentaries, a dæmon gallery and much more.