Is Sam the Holy Spirit (only mildly serious)?

Rating: 6/10 (3 May 2015)

I recently watched this again and noticed a lot that I had not noticed when I was watching it repeatedly in my early 20's. I found it moving at the time but can't say that I find it the same at age 34. Now it just seems forced, but then it was quite moving (I guess it captured a moment). Then again, I decided to cast a more analytical eye toward Garden State this time as I have been planning for a sermon on the Christian holiday of Pentecost (yes, I'm a pastor). I remembered the fireplace dance scene being a pivotal scene in the film, but I was struck by the frequency with which Sam is visually associated with reds and oranges while Largeman is associated with blues and greens. While we could easily say that Sam is more fiery while Largeman is morose, we can also say that there is clearly an internal spark and not simply an external glow that inspires Sam. Given the circumstances of her life, she should also be spiraling into the same kind of disaffectedness as Large, but she is not. Perhaps it is because Sam is a Gen-Xer while Large is a Millennial (seriously), but perhaps it is a willingness to accept circumstances rather than escape them artificially (through drugs, prescribed or otherwise). After all, that seems to be a main theme of the movie: living with yourself. Still, I can't help but shake the cinematography surrounding Sam and the passage of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit inspired the people to understand one another with tongues of fire. Given that Pentecost is the spiritual empowerment of people after Jesus's death, it's fitting.