Very quiet and well-drawn movie

Rating: 10/10 (15 January 2005)

I didn't want to wait until they publish the German version of the DVD, hence, I ordered it on Amazon.com a few weeks ago. For some strange reason, the movie had minimal publicity over here, even though "Scrubs" was running on TV at the time, and with some success. Anyway, I watched the movie and was more than just a little impressed. Over the years, I guess I have taken a liking to these quiet, observatory movies that grant you an intimate insight into someone's life and crises, the like of "Secretary" or "About Schmidt". "Garden State" is one of these movies, as well.
It's what I would call a well-drawn movie, gifted with a fine script, and a precise, concise storyline that is to the point, even though the basic setting seems to beg for some degree of meandering at first. Zach Braff plays Andrew Largeman, a mildly successful, 26 year old wanna be-actor who returns home to Newark for the first time in 9 years. Together with his dad Gideon (Ian Holmes), he tries to tackle the recent death - or rather: suicide - of his quadriplegic mother. Prowling through his hometown, he meets with Sam (Natalie Portman), they become friends, and, ultimately, lovers. Slowly, Andrew wakes from the Lithium induced stupor that most of his life was, ever since he hurt and disabled his mom. Rather than return to Los Angeles, he finally opts for sharing his life with Sam.
The script is as fragile as it is careful, of course, mainly because the protagonists (not the actors) are fragile, caught together in a most decisive phase of their lifes, where every little step makes a difference. Both Zach Braff and Natalie Portman know how to fill these careful, fragile parts - Portman, in particular, is a real stunner in her role. Substract all those overblown Star Wars costumes & conventions, and what remains is very fine and gifted actor. Braff, too, demonstrates that his talents are not exhausted with comic roles. The two have a definite chemistry on screen and it's fun watching them finding their ways through the world and to each other. Ultimately, that chemistry is what prevents the (happy) ending from being schmaltzy or anything. With two weeks gone, this is the best movie I have seen so far this year, and it's very, very likely to keep that top spot. A straight 10 out of 10.