A couple days ago, I found out someone I recently met and who I think is pretty cool hasn’t yet seen Garden State. It was a deal breaker. (Just kidding, Chesca.) But anyway, I then remembered this review of the film I wrote way back when I was seventeen. In a way, I suppose this is a “Throwback Thursday.”
GARDEN STATE (2004)
*****A surreal, almost-profound story depicting life, this movie is a ride through New Jersey in the eyes of an overmedicated would-be actor. It is a mix of wildly eccentric characters – from a free-spirited local girl, to a millionaire living off the invention of silent Velcro. A rush jumping from random scene to wholeheartedly significant, “Garden State” is a riveting, endearing journey in the form of a man’s visit home, where he doesn’t quite find home, but instead, exactly what he needs.
It all begins with Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff) – an actor only recognizable from playing a retarded quarterback in a made-for-TV movie – lying in a stark white room in a white bed with a white sheet in an emotionless state. An answering machine message left by his father, Gideon Largeman (Ian Holm), informs Largeman that his mother drowned in a bathtub and that he should come home to New Jersey for the funeral. Largeman has not been home in nine years and is over-drugged with medication to the point where he feels no emotion.
Not long after returning home, he spots high school friend, Mark (Peter Sarsgaard), and winds up at a party in someone’s basement doing the drug ecstasy. Even with these drugs, he remains blank without any form of expression. In a matter of days, he meets stunning, captivating Sam (Natalie Portman), an exhilarating pathological liar who is afflicted with Epilepsy but could care less, and chooses instead, to laugh about it and enjoy life while it lasts. Through Sam, Largeman gradually learns the importance of feeling and expressing emotion, confronting his childhood traumas along with his domineering father.
Natalie Portman’s depiction of Sam is beautiful. She is fascinating and inspirational. You just cannot help but fall in love with Sam and her character. Her bubbly personality is simply contagious, and Portman’s outstanding acting ability is evident. While Zach Braff’s portrayal of the transformation of an emotionless zombie is superb, Natalie Portman’s Sam makes “Garden State” exactly what it is – unique.
While many scenes appear out of context, every scene and line within this film serves a purpose. Each and every one of the seemingly pointless out of place moments within this movie builds the characters and setting of “Garden State.” Scenes of a drugged party moving past quickly and in a blur exactly as it should prove the exceptional cinematography. With a Shins song that will “change your life,” and Frou Frou’s “Let Go” used to the best degree possible, this is one movie where the soundtrack adds exactly what it needs and creates the precise mood for each scene.
Zach Braff’s job at writing and directing is inspirational. Loosely biographical, this movie succeeds in exhibiting beautiful analogies, metaphors and life-lessons without being at all preachy. This isn’t your typical Hollywood flick, but a deeper, more real contraption geared solely by Braff.
It isn’t a movie to see on a whim, because it requires more thought than that. Smart and insightful, this is a film centred on living life to the fullest, drawing in its audience with a quirky delightful humour. “Garden State” is a movie about feeling something, and by its end, you will be.
Re-reading it, it’s more of a fan-girling moment than a legitimate review, but it was nice to come across again all the same.
