A Review by Phil Calabro
***HIGHLY RECOMMENDED***
*** #3 - TOP 10 IN 2004 ***
2004, Fox Searchlight/Miramax, Dir. Zach Braff - Starring Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Ian Holm, Jean Smart, Method Man, Armando Riesco, Michael Weston
Getting to know yourself exactly is very hard to do - and for Andrew Largeman (Braff) in Garden State, it's practically impossible for him. He's been stuck in the rat race of life, feeling numb from practically everything around him, and not realizing the beauty that surrounds him. In Garden State, first time director Zach Braff shines so brightly, with such a quirky but hilarious sense of humor, and a strikingly realistic state of mind that makes this film so amazing.
Largeman (Braff), or Large as his friends call him, lives in LA and is a small-time actor. He is prescribed to a lot of medications related to depression even though he's not even sure if he has depression. One day, his estranged father (Holm) calls and tell him that his mother has died. For the first time in a while, Large goes to his home town in New Jersey, the Garden State, to mourn for his mother and to take a small vacation. While there, he meets an eccentric girl named Sam (Portman), who helps Large realize how precious life is and how unique an individual can be in life. He also receives help from his friend Mark (Sarsgaard) who is a total stoner, but gives enlightening help.
Zach Braff is such a cool character in this, and most importantly, he is utterly realistic. I can draw many parallels with his expressions and his emotions, which seem too true to be acted. He will be sure to bring tears to many audience members, either with his uproarious sense of humor, or with his beautiful exceptance of life. Natalie Portman works excellently as a counterpart, with her offbeat and neurotic average girl who becomes Large's love interest. Somehow, Ian Holm appears to be a missing character in this film, but to me he seemed to be one of most emotional characters I have seen. His relationship with Large is so sad, that to me, it brought out most of the emotion in the film. Sarsgaard is amusing, but not stellar, in his role as Mark, the good lighthearted friend of Large.
Braff's direction may seem to many as overly pretentious and artsy, but I even thought that when I saw its abstract trailer first - and I love this film. It's well-pieced, in a real-time environment, mixed with an ecclectic amount of oddities that surround Large, such as his millionaire friend who invented Velcro that doesn't make noise, or the Ugandan brother of Sam who is specializing in criminal justice. It's all so goofy and random but it doesn't leave you off feeling like it's "supposed to not make sense" - it makes you feel like those are just ordinary items in other people's lives - playing off of the "unique" morals of the film.
Garden State is one of the most beautiful and visually appraising films I have seen this year, and in a while. It's special, quaint, and realistic - all thanks to the witty banter that belongs to Zach Braff and his creative genius at work. This is not a film for the indie crowd - this is a film for anybody who feels that they have the power to control their life and do what they feel like doing - not what other people prescribe to them - and realize who they really are. Sometimes we all need a time out in the Garden State, and this was one of those moments.
