Garden State Writer, director, and star Zach Braff puts a unique and

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2005)

Garden State Writer, director, and star Zach Braff puts a unique and compelling spin on the often retold tale of self-discovery in "Garden State." The movie starts with Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff) returning to his New Jersey home to pay his respects at his mother's funeral. He has been estranged from his family, friends, and New Jersey for nine years. The return to the Garden State sparks Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff) to take a vacation from sleepwalking through life in a numbness caused by lithium. The reason why Andrew Largeman was prescribed lithium and disappeared for nine years was because of a tragic accident that happened between his mother and him when he was a young boy. On the second day of being in New Jersey, Andrew meets Sam (Natalie Portman) over an unfortunate incident with a German Sheppard and they become fast friends. Throughout the rest of the movie bizarre incidences occur with old friends and Sam as Andrew rediscovers himself and the world without lithium.
The beginning of "Garden State" seems slow, because the plot and characters take a prolonged time to develop. For the first couple of minutes of the movie the main character, Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff), seems to be uncaringly going throughout his day and his character seems one dimensional. However, later on the viewer realizes that the development of Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff) is postponed until he is lithium free and returns to New Jersey. The character of Sam (Natalie Portman) is one of the most distinctive and exceptional characters I have seen in a movie recently. Sam's sense of unique adventure and lack of inhibitions presents her to seem as if she is a ten year old girl trapped in a twenty-some year old body. There is a great deal of chemistry between Sam and Andrew. The awkwardness of Sam and Andrew getting to know each other is extremely realistic, and shows how self-conscious people can be when they let a new person into their life. For example, when Andrew visits Sam's house for the first time, Sam keeps saying, "Wow you are like totally freaked out right now. You are like just running for the door. It's okay you can leave," because Sam thinks that her living situation is so bizarre. Additionally, the character of Andrew's dad is very underdeveloped and boring, and he only shows up to talk about Andrew's health. Nevertheless, the rest of the characters are oddly fascinating, spending their days digging graves, being a fast food knight, and inventing silent Velcro. Overall, the characters of "Garden State" bring humor to the movie with their quirkiness and unpredictability.
"Garden State" is often being praised for the wonderful compilation of songs that comprise its soundtrack. These songs are not only intrinsically excellent; additionally they fit the mood of the movie perfectly. For instance, at the beginning of the movie when Andrew Largeman is still sleepwalking miserably through life "Don't Panic" by Coldplay is playing. The overall sound of the music is fitting and the lyrics coupled with the events in the movie create a sense of irony. Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay, is singing, "We live in a beautiful world" as Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff) is stuck in L.A. traffic, drives away from the gas pump with the handle still in his car, all while under lithium in a state of numbness that matches the melodic aspect of the song. The soundtrack is intrinsically fabulous, but when combined with the scenes of the movie it is a perfect match.
The characters and the plot of "Garden State" are extremely unique, and the music flows with the movie perfectly. "Garden State" puts a different twist on the traditional self-discovery tale for the age when many people are highly medicated on prescriptions like Zoloft, and Paxal, and lack their self-defining characteristics. However, through its different twist on the self-discovery tale "Garden State" still has mass relate ability, even for those non-medicated, because it is still simply a story of finding one's self. "Garden State" is worth the money and time it takes to watch it.