indie clichés

Rating: 1/10 (24 September 2005)

this film takes all sort of clichés from indie film from the 80s/90s and exploits them to manipulate the sentimentality of the audience. garden state is not a true "indie" film-- it's just a Hollywood film with a small budget. it operates by borrowing certain indie mannerisms to appear "original" when in reality it's just a(nother) sappy and contrived romantic comedy. unfortunately, that's the state of independent film these days-- almost completely overtaken and pushed towards the mainstream by Hollywood hacks.
the cinematography was so-so (others here have commented on it already), but i also think the editing was spotty, because i found myself bothered by it several times-- unnecessary cuts, shots that break the narrative, etc. the dialogue was, at times, truly atrocious, lines so bad that i cringed and my brain refuses to recall them.
i have to add also that i did NOT like natalie portman for the role-- her voice was just annoying, and her performance didn't match her character-- i couldn't keep from feeling she was self-consciously reading her lines, especially in the early part of the movie. what a difference from, say, kate winslett in "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind", where the eccentric girl is truly believable, not just easy on the eyes (and is sam really that "eccentric"? not really... if anything, more of a woman-child. but i digress...)
zach braff on the other hand was pretty good on his role, but then again he wrote the script himself (and directed it), so he had to fit... but that's not enough to carry a whole movie, is it? so maybe he spread himself too thin, or maybe this is the result of narcissism, or lack of perspective...
i think the film fails to deliver what it sets out to do. the premise had potential, and there were interesting characters and situations presented, but the script went nowhere with them.
the lesson i hope the director learns: some times you need to delegate to experts (or people with more talent). just because you have a good idea for a story, it doesn't mean that you can weave a good plot or write good dialogue. hire a good script doctor next time? and best of luck--
now this movie is not THAT awful. i would give it a 5? but i gave it a 1 to counterbalance the mass overrating and the hype-- this movie in no way belongs among the 250 best films in history. how did it get there? mass ignorance? an absurd situation...