Classy, subtle and beautifully conceived, but...

Rating: 9/10 (16 December 2004)

I saw the 8.3 on IMDb and decided this was one I had to see. I wasn't quite sure what it was about, which is a good thing - going into a movie entirely blindly is something I've not done for some considerable time, and it was refreshing to do so here.
Zak Braff stars as Andrew, a man in his mid 20's living in LA having emigrated away from New Jersey, to pursue a career as an actor, with only limited success. His present day-job is as a waiter in a Vietnamese restaurant, and when he receives a call from his estranged father telling him his mother has died, he travels back to his childhood home, to the area he was raised, which re-ignites old acquaintances.
It would be unfair to label Garden State as some kind of superfluous coming of age drama, as the main protagonist is well into his adult life. However, there is without doubt a semblance of this kind of theme, in that Andrew is a troubled individual who's been on medication since he was only a young boy, and has come to some type of crossroads since attending the funeral of his recently passed mother.
What it would *not* be unfair to label Garden State as is 'subtle'. I can rarely recall such an underplayed movie, which gets the balance of action and dialogue absolutely spot on, while never appearing to think a lot of itself. The humour is subtle, the acting is subtle, the entire picture is subtle. This delicate and almost poetic approach serves it extremely well and is a fine antidote to the forceful movies more commonly produced by Hollywood.
Another of the main aspects it has in its favour is the quality of both the dialogue and acting. Every character says just the right thing, at the right time, with the right delivery. And by 'right' I mean 'realistic'. There's even a subtle flub of a line at one point which gives the scene a genuine grit. The movie is extremely down to earth without being morbid. The acting adds to this, with all characters coming across as actual people and never caricatures of stereotypes that we usually suffer.
As both the main star and director, Braff is simply perfection. His character sometimes appears as awkward and bland, but believe me it is intentional, and when he actually adds a bit of emotion to a moment, it truly works and is utterly believable. His direction is absolutely spot on. Never overly flashy, never dull, there's an equilibrium which draws the viewer in as well as anything else I've seen.
As Sam, the love interest, Natalie Portman shows she can actually act. The only things I recall seeing her in besides this were the quite appalling Star Wars prequels and her wooden displays were an embarrassment. Here she portrays a warmth and quirkiness which is, yes, subtle, as well as personable. The fellow leads, such as Peter Sarsgaard as Mark, all add extremely well to the movie without ever outstaying their welcomes.
However, you *knew* there was a 'but' coming (as indicated by the title)...
Slight spoiler ahead:
The ending is atrocious. Yes, it's possibly been raised elsewhere but I have to affirm it. The ending goes disappointingly Hollywood and is an absolute rush job which undoes all the brilliant work which went before it. This ending is why Ridley Scott released the Director's Cut of Blade Runner, rather than the walking off into the sunset finale originally released.
Spoiler over:
This is a fairly original, beautifully constructed and poignant piece of cinema, which is let down by its desperation to have a conclusively predictable ending. I still rate it very highly, but I'm disappointed that I felt so empty after the ending. This should have left me with a lot more.