Wonderfully done film, just right

Rating: 10/10 (21 August 2004)

Garden State, masterminded by young Zach Braff (you might know him from Scrubs), is everything that every indie movie aspires to but so very few achieve; it's warm, it's funny, it's quirky and ironic, it's sad and hopeful and touching all at once. It manages to poke fun at life without being disillusioned, it offers hope without being saccharine, and it manages to reach right off the screen and touch us. I'm not often emotionally engaged by films I see these days, but I certainly was with Garden State.
Much of the credit obviously has to go to Braff; since he wrote, starred in, and directed it, it pretty much only could be his fault if things went wrong. But Braff gives a flawless performance as Andrew Largeman, a 26-year old who has largely become disconnected from the world and has to fly home for his mother's funeral. The movie starts a little jerkily, though Braff is appealing from the start. But not long into the movie Andrew encounters Sam (Natalie Portman), and there the movie really finds its legs. Portman and Braff have an unusual and touching chemistry, and if anything, she's even sharper than he is, if that's possible. Portman has several scenes where she is so natural that it hardly feels like acting at all; and despite the fact that her notable features have been pasted all over the world from Star Wars, her Sam is so engaging and lively you forget that you're even watching anyone perform. In that Braff equals her, and they are a perfect match.
I won't get into much of the plot for fear of spoiling anything, because the movie is far too good for that. But Braff manages the right balance between irony and humor, and his warmth with Portman really shines through on the screen. As Andrew begins to come alive, the movie grows even stronger, and there are a few moments toward the end that are just pulled off perfectly. I especially liked the very end, which is always the hardest part of a film (or any story) to get right.
I know, I know, I'm overhyping it; but in fact, I'm not really doing the movie much justice at all. This is the most moved I've been by a film since Lost in Translation, and that's rare company indeed. I know Garden State isn't playing everywhere, but if it is showing near you, you might want to make an effort to see it; movies like this are a very rare bunch, that can touch us and maybe even change us a little. Don't wait to see it on DVD.