Garden State of Mind

Rating: 8/10 (22 January 2013)

Great debut from Zach as writer/director/actor in a soporific type performance that inspires the open minded. The movie is just as beautiful to watch, as if watching Adam from the Garden of Eden coming alive for the first time Adam taste the forbidden food, as Andrew Largeman (Zack Braff), a moderately successful TV actor living in LA has been going through life in a drug lithium-induced coma until his mother's death inspired a vacation from the pills to see what might happen to truly taste life. Zack does a great job on his character, as it's so unlike his role as J.D in the TV Show 'Scrubs'. Andrew is medicated with antidepressants and therefore emotionally numb. Braff depicted perfectly that feeling of aloofness when you are just not into taking drugs with a crowd you don't really know. This captures the dissociative nature of the drug experience so well. the way drugs alter your thinking can be stimulating and exciting but at times very unsettling in others. So sick of drug use being glamorized, and sick of seeing it in almost every movie, but in this film, it's really does show the negative light of it. In my opinion, the character development is part of what makes this movie fantastic. He returns to New Jersey AKA the Garden State for a few days to attend his mother's funeral staying with his domineering over barely father Gideon (Ian Holms) who also his doctor. Meanwhile, at home, he does his best to avoid a long-simmering but inevitable confrontation with his father. Stunned to find himself in his hometown after such a long absence, Large finds old acquaintances around every corner living quite unique lives as gravediggers like Mark (Peter Sarsgaard), fast food knights (Jim Parsons), rich inventors (Armando Riesco) and the panderers of pyramid schemes. Not only that, Large meets Sam (Natalie Portman) at the hospital for a check up, a girl who is everything he isn't. A blast of color, hope and quirks, but also corky pathological liar with epilepsy. Natalie does a great job in the role, making her charming and innocent, yet somebody trying to open up to somebody herself. He opens up his life to Sam for the first time, with speeches in both the pool and bathtub. 'The Home Speech" is just great writing from Zack Braff. This scene is great. And I love their conversation. But it always made me giggle,because the way that their heads are just at the surface of the water, and the way that their bodies look under the water. It looks like big heads with no necks and little legs. This movie has plenty of deep meanings which works with the beautiful camera shots. Some of them are written, some of them just out there for the audience to figure them out. The 't-shirt' in the bathroom scene, the children crossing the street, the alligator ice skating, and the 'Ark' on the edge of infinite abyss. This movie looks amazing I love the way it is shot, very good cinematography! Suspiciously﻿ Wes Anderson-y. Not only the great cinematography. Zach has an amazing good taste in music. The music like New Slang-The Shins, Fair-Remy Zero, The only living boy in New York-Simon & Garfunkel, Let go-Frou Frou, Don't Panic-Coldplay, Such Great Heights-irone and wine all works, but the film get criticize for being a hipster movie, personally I don't see that. If the film need some criticize, it's will be with the pretentious. I can do without Methon Man cameo and the hotel scenes. It feel disturbing. Not needed. The many contemplation Zack Braff poses can be annoying. He can be poster boy for narcissism, heralding in the facebook generation. I think it has something to do with the how there's so much going on in his head but it doesn't show through to an outsider's perspective. Some people just live life without thinking and some think through life without living. There's a middle ground in there somewhere but there are people that are so far off to one side they can barely function. The movie is about him trying to get his bearings on life. Strangers think he's just bored but those who relate to him know better. Criticize can say, how much it's mirror Zack's real life's life. Funny, how Andrew, a waiter at Vietnamese restaurant. Before he played in Scrubs, Zack actually was a waiter at a Vietnamese restaurant . He's struggled with OCD since he was ten. Also his character has been medicated since he was ten. He's also Jewish in real life and his parents were a sociologist and a psychologist. He's really from New Jersey. Also at first he really struggled becoming an actor until he got his break with Scrubs. I mean the movie isn't his biography but the basis is from his life. Still it's discomfort, combined with laughter. Kudo to Zack, that's a hard combo to do. This ending to this film is perfect, because life is just a series of moments and decisions we make, and he needs to make one right there that could changes everything. We don't see what happens next, because we don't need to. Funny how the last part of this scene takes place in a "baggage claim" area too. Sam warmth and fearlessness give Large the courage to open his heart to the joy and pain of the infinite abyss that is life. The question is, will Andrew have the courage to face his father, and accede Sam into his life. Watch the movie to find out.