A friend of mine regarded this as the best film he's seen
this year. I wouldn't quite give "Garden
State" that honor, but it is an impressive piece of
work. Zach Braff is the star of the awful NBC sitcom
"Scrubs." Of course, 80 percent of the sitcoms
on TV are crap, but his hammy acting on the show doesn't
offer much compensation. Though I had a hunch I
would like this film, I definitely wasn't a Zach Braff
fan, and felt that he was another of these no-talent young
actors who doesn't deserve a chance in this business.
Well, now I can officially apologize. Comic acting
may not be his forte, but Zach does have a talent for dramatic
acting, as well as writing and directing.
In the film, Braff plays an up-and-coming Hollywood actor,
who returns to his small town in New Jersey to attend his
mother's funeral. His relationship with his family
isn't great, especially with his father--who used to
double as his psychiatrist. On the other hand, his
friends welcome him with open arms. Along the way,
he meets a free-spirited girl (Natalie Portman), who
happens to be a compulsive liar and an epileptic. In
a way, she teaches him how to stop being so
burned out, and enjoy what life has to offer.
The script is inspired and well-written, as I'm sure
Braff threw snippets of his own life experiences into
the mix. Like any good independent film, the
characters are engaging and multi-dimensional. I saw
"Garden State" at my local theater, which
normally plays the most mainstream movies--unless they
happen to contain urban themes. So I was alone in
the theater with the exception of an older couple.
I don't expect a movie like this to appeal to mainstream
audiences, as it moves at quite a slow pace. At
times, it's a little too slow, but I always appreciate it
when a film takes time to emphasize character.
Mainstream films rarely take advantage of that
opportunity.
By the third act, "Garden State" loses a little
steam, as it contains one-too-many predictable moments.
There are certain points in the film where I can tell
Braff is trying too hard to be artsy, as it is his
directorial debut, but at the same time he didn't try to
throw everything in but the kitchen sink, like in the case
of some first-time directors. I also felt there were
some eccentric moments that seemed out of place, in an
otherwise realistic film. For example, in one scene
a character is walking around the house, dressed as a
knight. He sits down to eat breakfast, still in his
armor. It turns out that he works as a knight at Medieval
Times, but why would he walk around his house in that
outfit?
A talented cast also helps keep the movie afloat. As
I said earlier, Braff shows that he has talent as a
serious actor. He gives a very subtle, restrained
performance that is 180 degrees from his work on
"Scrubs." Instead of chewing up the
scenery, he lets his sadness play out in a stoic fashion.
Portman is impressive in a role much different from her
others. It's nice to see that Queen Amadalla of
the "Star Wars" prequels is willing to star in a
quiet, low-budget feature that isn't populated by massive
special effects. The supporting cast includes such
talents as Peter Skarsgard (of "Boys Don't
Cry" fame), Jean Smart, Ian Holm and Ron Leibman.
Finally, I enjoyed the fact that the movie is set in New
Jersey, yet the actors don't use cheesy Jersey
accents. Obviously, that's the issue of mine, since
I'm from Jersey. Not everybody from here sounds like
a character out of "The Sopranos." Other
than Holm, who unsuccessfully tries to cover up his
English accent by trying hard to sound like he's from Jersey,
the actors didn't go that route.
