Garden State
Garden State is one of those movies where after it ends you think to yourself, “damn, I wish they made more movies like that.”
Largeman, played by Zach Braff, comes back to his home town for the funeral of his quadriplegic mother. Leaving the antidepressants his father prescribes him at home, he slowly comes out of the foggy numbness that is the last 10+ years of his life. Over the course of a few days Largeman begins to figure out who he is and what it’s like to feel life.
I really enjoyed the characters and dialog in this movie. After Largeman meets Sam, played by Natalie Portman, he really begins to open up and the dialog between the two of them is fantastic. Although Sam quiets down after the first half of the movie, I still really enjoyed Largeman’s “conversations” with Sam. I say “conversations” because many of them are just Largeman talking to Sam, almost like we are hearing his inner dialog. Through these conversations we really begin to understand the depth of these characters and why they are the way they are.
Natalie Portman’s performance is fantastic in this movie. She’s a little crazy in the beginning of the movie, but full of life and quite intriguing. Unfortunately, about half way through the movie she takes a backseat to Braff’s character and becomes almost a tagalong girlfriend. I would have liked to learn more about her story, but the movie really is about Largeman.
The other characters in the story were great too. Largeman’s old high school friends are unmotivated and completely lazy. It’s funny to watch him run into them here and there and have those awkward, two minute, “what have you been up to lately” conversations. I’ve had to do this a number of times myself with various people I knew in high school and Largeman’s responses are dead on and hilarious.
One thing about his friends that struck me was how opposite they were from him. While he struggles to come out of his Lithium induced haze and mourn the death of his mother, his friends take all sorts of drugs to fill the boringness of their lives. I guess the grass is always greener…
I also thought it was interesting how the two deaths in the movie both spark something into life. The first death, that of Largeman’s mother, causes him to come home and stop taking his medication. This in turn sparks a sort of “awakening,” if you want to call it that. The second death, that of Sam’s hamster, sparks the first real conversation between Sam and Largeman, and is what I consider the turning point in their relationship.
Like I said before, I really enjoyed this movie. The dialog and themes are real and believable, even when some of the situations feel ridiculous. While the movie makes you think about those questions that have no answers, it has enough quirky, funny moments to keep it fresh and entertaining.
November 15th, 2004 at 1:10 pm
Sweet review, Kevin. I want to see this movie now. My roommate had invited me to go see it a while back but I didn’t really know much about it to want to go see it.