The film that we've always wanted.

Rating: 10/10 (24 August 2004)

Nobody knew "Garden State" was coming. But it did, and it is a true gift to cinema. It is rare to see such a complete personal story come to the screen with such aesthetic mastery. Zach Braff has managed to maintain a balance between intense drama and natural humor. The result is the crazy feeling of love. Natalie Portman's overwhelming performance is a testament of that vision. The film had a quality that ran deep with ideas a young audience relates to. Carefully written, the core situations of the film are placed amidst specific settings that communicate his feelings and philosophies about his identity and the places that have shaped his life. This is the movie that filmmakers work their whole lives to make and it's amazing to see young Braff's first film succeed so wholeheartedly. This is the kind of work that was as fresh as real life, milking the medium of film for all its good worth. It is full of wonderful acheivements that will need to be remembered as long as home is where the heart is.