A really nice film.....

Rating: 8/10 (3 August 2008)

Never expected this film to be so funny and touching at the same time and Zach, for his first film, truly manages to accomplish this.
For all of us, at some point or the other in our lives, each one is made to go back to his or her past, face the unforgettable disturbing truths and incidents that we so want to forget, reconcile and then finally and hopefully, move on.
For Zach's character Andrew, it is his mother's untimely death that forces him to visit home and thus, his past - all that he had left nine years ago. What happens next is what the film is essentially about. For the first few days, Andrew is literally so out of place the whole time. His expressions say it all - just asking questions - Why am I here, why is all of this happening to me? Why am I not feeling anything? Should I be feeling at all? Nobody welcomes him back with open arms - because Andrew is returning home to no-one - no family, no close high school friends, no girlfriend. Nobody. But slowly he meets his long lost friends (no close high school buddies), meets a girl Samantha(Natalie Portman) at the doctors clinic and starts hangs out with them just so that he can avoid being at home and bumping into his father. But then the past does catch up with you sooner or later and Andrew realizes this as days pass. His friend Mark and girlfriend-in-the-making Sam, through their own small but significant gestures help him tide through this. But it is Andrew who has to take charge and get his life on track for the first time in his life by letting go of the past and most importantly forcing his father to let go off the same.
Not an easy subject to deal with for a debut movie but Zach makes this possible with a great script. The dialogues are so well-written; witty, touching almost making you laugh aloud in one scene, making you smile in another, almost cry in others. Obviously it helps that the lead characters are very well chosen for their parts - Zach with his eye-rolling expressions, barely opening his mouth while talking and when he does its like he's in a permanent daze; Sam's character of a chronic liar but good-at-heart girl-next-door was brought alive so well by Natalie Portman; Peter Saasgard as Mark too left his "mark" not being outright there for Andrew but being there alright, helping him in his own little way.
The background score and songs are beautiful and aptly chosen. Its not often that the songs depict the characters moods well. The lyrics describe just that.
I really liked this film, it made me feel good - that however messy our lives can be, I guess, we can come through the mess, slowly, one step at a time.