Flawed but Beautiful Movie

Rating: 8/10 (1 May 2005)

Zach Braff's directorial debut "Garden State" is a flawed, yet beautiful and entertaining character study that tugs at the heart strings. The movie centers around Andrew Largeman (Braff) an emotionally numb struggling actor who returns to New Jersey after nine years for his mother's funeral. He has been on some form of medication since he was a child that leaves him in somewhat of a stupor or a waking sleep. Andrew decides to leave his medication behind and try to go to New Jersey without it for a few days. The film is essentially about how being off his meds opens his eyes to the world around him. In this world are his friends from high school, his father with whom he is estranged (Ian Holm) and a quirky young woman named Sam (Natalie Portman) who bewitches him.
I have heard a lot of talk about how this movie is pretentious, art house drivel. This comes from the same people who loved "Lost in Translation" yet can't for the life of them explain why. That isn't a knock at "Lost in Translation" by the way. I didn't love "Lost in Translation" nor do I love "Garden State." They are both entertaining in their own ways and I appreciate both. I appreciate "Lost in Translation" for the beauty it conveys about being lost in a strange world and finding someone else who is also lost to share in the desolation.
However, I was much more entertained and touched by "Garden State," and am not afraid or ashamed to say so. It seems that Braff was coming from a very personal place when he wrote this movie. His portrayal of Andrew is one of quiet absurdity. He is fascinated and a bit put off by the world he lives in, but he has no right to be. Braff plays this off beautifully, hitting every note with precision and sad humor. Portman's Sam is a delightful force of nature and although many people found her performance to be somewhat annoying, I thought it was wonderfully endearing. Peter Sarsgaard is top notch as always playing Andrew's loose cannon friend who drinks too much, does too much drugs and doesn't seem to care. Only Sarsgaard could pull off lines such as "Don't tease me about my habits. I don't tease you about being an asshole."
There are places where the movie is clearly trying to be quirky and funny, which it is. For instance, the scene in which Braff models a shirt made for him by his aunt out of the same material as the wallpaper. That image is one likely to become a famous association with the film, such as Dustin Hoffman being viewed through Anne Bancroft's leg in "The Graduate." Does it contribute to the film as a whole? Not really. In fact, there are several unnecessary scenes in "Garden State", but they are presented in such a way that you couldn't imagine the film without them. Somehow, Braff makes it work. Braff makes everything work invthis film that shouldn't work. He has proved to be a great writer and a VERY GOOD director. He has a clear style and it'll be interesting if he becomes an auteuristic director like Kubrick or even Hitchcock. I pray he doesn't stop here. I am so intrigued.
In the end, Braff has written and directed a film that, love it or hate it, will be talked about for years to come and will likely go down in history as a cult classic, gathering a following comparable to that of "Reality Bites" and dare I say "Lost in Translation."