Portman and Braff in Jersey mode

Even a sentence like that sounds too affected to have been written by goofy-faced funny man Zach Braff, of Scrubs fame. One look at his ridiculous pitiableness and all seriousness is lost.

As Braff's feature writing and directorial debut, Garden State is the story of Andrew Largeman, whom Braff plays, a 20-something L.A. actor by day and waiter by night who goes back home to New Jersey to visit his family for the first time in 11 years. The occasion is his mother's death, so not a joyous one, but then again his mother was a paraplegic in constant pain, so in a sense it's better for her, he figures. It's not such a big deal.

Much more meaningful to him, though, is his return to Jersey, the garden state.

One of the film's most absorbing features is Braff's conscious disregard for Hollywood's three-act structure. The narrative follows a fluid, unpredictable path pinned down only by the specificity of the place in which it's set. As a title, Garden State strikes one as irrelevant to the premise, that's for sure, but this is a love story that goes beyond affections and a comedy that stretches past the laughs. It's about the character of Largeman and his personal state, ultimately, but more profoundly it is truly a homage to New Jersey (of all places). Only to Braff, Jersey represents home and that is a big deal.

Largeman is silent and numb for most of the film's start, which is a little disconcerting at first but allows the viewer to fully concentrate on the soundtrack, which is excellent. Scenes expanding on his solitude layer upon each other: an image of him alone in a large bed in a bleach-white bedroom, rid of any pigment but for the colour of his sallow skin; a shot of him at his mother's funeral, lonely in the rain. We are practically surprised when at some point he begins talking, though minimally, to some gravediggers he used to go to high school with. Then, slowly, Largeman begins his unravelling.

Braff said he started jotting down ideas for Garden State when he was first away from home at college. He was struck by the simultaneous anticipation he'd felt upon leaving New Jersey and excruciating homesickness he'd felt once he was away. Largeman, in the film, muses whether home may just be a common place a certain group of people miss, a nonentity in itself. This is evidence of the character's feeling of disconnectedness with his family: He barely speaks to his father the whole time of his stay, choosing instead to escape with his gravedigger buddies, and eventually with Sam (Nathalie Portman), the cute epileptic girl he falls for. He's cold - so removed.

But as I say, he eventually unravels. He's been on lithium all his life, it turns out, as well as a panoply of antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs, prescribed by his psychoanalyst dad. It has something to do with his mother's state, but Largeman is fed up and has quit the pills. Lo and behold, he's starting to feel.

Meandering through this personal portrait is real and spectacular, the experience's magnificence resting on character-driven quirky hilarity, and on New Jersey's natural wonders and not-so-wonders. Braff breaks ground thanks to the virtues of homeboy humility.

Garden State

 
 

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The bittersweet days of our youth     A list, of sorts. Why Zach Braff's Debut is Inherently Sad: 1. He tackles the 'return'. Melancholy, anxiety, anticipation, dissappointment, alienation. It all comes with the turf, and the turf in question is where you grew up. Of course you can never go home again, of course your old comic book collection has long since met the curb, and your house smells weird and foreign. Maybe the couches are arranged differently, or maybe theres a shimmering near tangible void where a loved one should be. It is an admirable thing to try and capture, and Braff succeeds. And it is sad. Sad, sad, sad. 2. His friends dig graves. 3. Black humor, blackest of the black. The self loathing sadist in me leaps at dead pan. And it's pulled off beautifully. 4. "The Only Living Boy in New York", by Simon and Garfunkel. Crimoney, my puny heart caved in and breathing became laborous. So yeah. Beautiful sad song. Why Zach Braff's Debut is Hopeful! Wistful! 1. He plays a zoloft lithium addict. Years of being medicated have left instead a numb shell, dead to the world in himself. However, a happy accident causes him to forget his meds in sunny sunny california. Can you say COCCOON EMERGENCE? Fly, you beautiful bastard, fly. 2. Which leads me to his girlfriend, the sweet dispositioned over acting Portman, who has her own cross to bear. Budding romance and valuable life lessons ensue. 3. Lessons like: There can be beauty in ugly things. Like geological wonders! In Jersey! In Jersey, guys!!!!! So there you have it my friends, I present you with 7 reasons. 6 should be enough, but I gave 7 because frankly, it's just that good.
Bily Ilievska	{14 votes}	August 25th, 2004
So much wit and humor     Absolutely one of the funniest films I have seen this year. It's about reality and life, and it's not candy-coated, and sometimes it's hard, but it's real. A great deal of tragedy in Andrew's life has molded him into the nothingness, until Sam enters his life. Their relationship is so wonderful, and their conversations is so poignant and touching, and even though they've basically just met, the film allows them time to get to know each other, to discover each other's idiosynchrasies and quirks. The characters are so fascinating because they are very close to real people, and we can identify with them on so many levels. Few movies are so observant and honest. Zach Braff proved that he has a strong talent for acting, writing and directing with a movie that is so deeply rivoting that it stirs the spirit. Again, the movie possessed such admirable qualities, and it is absolutely a great, great film.
Gael Fletcher	{23 votes}	October 26th, 2004
GARDEN STATE blooms in the theatres     Kudos, HOUR. Now, *that* is how you write a review for a movie! You don't reveal all the key plot points. You give us an insight in the director's mind and what drove him to tell his tale. You give us a feeling for what the movie's about. Oh, and yeah, you avoid the temptation to mention that Natalie Portman and STAR WARS in any sort of unnecessary context. Well, *I am* but I'm doing so to underscore a point so I get to get away with that. I know I tear into the HOUR on a regular basis (sorry, sometimes it's very much deserved) but that's only because that's my function as an active reader. To not accept anything less than the best. I suppose I could stay silent and suck up but doesn't the world have enough of those already? Isa Tousignant's review is just informative enough to pique your interest and let me tell you this movie needs all the help it can get. No, not because it's bad but because it's coming in on the tail end of the summer blockbuster season with minimal publicity and a fresh take on the classic 'prodigal son' tale. I'm sorry but movies like this one rarely survive or prosper if not for word of mouth. GARDEN STATE has a quirky but solid cast and some solid cultish buzz behind it. Seriously folks, after a summer full of such marvelous empty duds like GARFIELD, CATWOMAN, VAN HELSING and NEW YORK MINUTE, don't you deserve to see a independant heartfelt picture with some actual dept? Well, one besides NAPOLEON DYNAMITE...
Pedro Eggers	{42 votes}	August 19th, 2004
Fantastic Debut     This movie is just amazing. It's most similar in tone and pace to Lost in Translation. The two films play in much the same way: the plot structure, the way the characters are developed, the overall attitude. Garden State still feels original. The key to why this film works when it could have fallen apart is that it features some very strong performances by Braff, Portman, and Holm.
Irina Zheleznyak		September 12th, 2004
Wow....     I absolutly loved this movie. i saw it the first night it came out in winnipeg and it was packed. everyone was so pleased and it was such an amazing movie, I cant believe how much alot of people can relate to in this movie and i think that is why its such a hit.
Chantal Hjorleifson		September 11th, 2004
Very impressed !     I have seen the ads on this movie and was interested but once I read this review I was blown. Like the other readers comment" Now thats how you write a review" I AGREE ! I want to go see it and probably will relate to it ! Good job
Nathalie Verbruggen		August 26th, 2004
Zach Braff rules me. In the way where he is like a god.     I saw this film the same day I saw 'We Don't Live Here Anymore', which is good, because it redeemed filmmaking for me. Despite the generic ending and the ridiculous over-acting of Natalie Portman, this is one of the best movies I have seen in ages. The film was full of images that resonated long after the end credits, and not once did I wonder about the time or question why anyone felt the need to put me through such an ordeal. And there were so many tiny details in their behaviour that fleshed out their characters - little things that most people seem to not notice. So worthwhile, so wistful - Zach Braff captured his world with such conviction that it made me really sad to leave it.
Rachel Rosenberg	{11 votes}	August 21st, 2004
Quaint little garden     I can't believe that I had to sit through a whole summer of glossy big budget movies that mostly didn't work to get to a comedy that actually might make me laugh. I can admit that I laughed my ass off at Halle Berry's Catwoman but that wasn't meant to be a comedy. Still funny in a cheezy way. I haven't seen Natalie Portman do a decent movie since Where The Heart Is. I know she can act but school and that other project with George Lucas has been keeping her of the radar. This should be a return to form. I'm really looking forward to it.
Juana Cabezas	{12 votes}	August 19th, 2004

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