A wonderful film that speaks of a generation.

Rating: 9/10 (12 August 2006)

"Garden State" is simply a beautiful movie, an example of the versatile genius as a writer and director of Mr. Zach Braff. The originality of its story, its dialogues and its characters are unique. And as a twenty-something sitting in this 2006, I surely felt this personal connection to this film. It speaks of my generation, in a way few other films could.
Mr. Braff must have written the characters Andrew, Sam and Mark out of personal experience... otherwise the standard of their originality is really hard to achieve. Sam, as free-spirited as she could be, captures the audience from her very first appearance with the brilliant line: "Are you really retarded?". And Mark with his 'I-don't-give-a-shit-to-this-life' attitude is also a character to relate to. But surely Andrew Largeman is the strangest character. Many of his traits are quite obvious, predictable, natural... still there are some depths we cannot measure and that makes him so unique, so like all of us yet so different.
As an actor, Zach Braff does a fair job, but couldn't get entirely out of his "Scrubs" persona. Peter SarsgaÃ¥rd also brings a nice touch to the character of Mark. But it's Natalie Portman who steals the show as Sam. She brings out Sam's eccentricity as the most natural thing on earth, her sudden changes of emotion flow in her so easily. I must say this is one of her finest performances to date.
One last thing I must talk about as few other reviewers did and that's the soundtrack. It is wonderfully compiled according to the film's mood, featuring all of my favorite musicians and all the songs are used in totally right moments... what can I say? From Coldplay's "Don't Panic" in the very beginning to Paul Simon's "The only living boy in New York" to Frou Frou's "Let Go" in the end, the film is a magical journey of real good music.
"Garden State" is one of the best movies that came out in 2004... but to those who can personally relate to this film, it's much more.