Impressive Debut

Rating: 10/10 (2 August 2004)

Garden State is a good little movie. *** POSSIBLE SPOILERS*****
Braff is a very talented actor, he does a terrific job as a director and I'm sure he'll grow as a writer. The script is the main flaw - much of the writing is "young" - in fact I believe EVERY writer in the world has a short story, a play, something in a drawer about a dead Mom. It is such a tired little area but Braff does bring some new and dark, interesting insight into it. The film is full of great performances and Portman does a wonderful job playing a quirky, flawed girl who meets Braff's character at a doctor's office. The film is a bit slow in the beginning but I liked how it took it's time and there are scenes in the second half that just soar - really work with their humor and power.