Review of Garden State (2004) by Scott W — 19 Jan 2014

Another movie, similar to A Beautiful Mind, where I think I am totally in love with everything about it but then find its limitations as I watch it later on in life. A lot of its elements I still really enjoyed - Zach Braff in general is a pretty cute guy, Natalie Portman as Sam was wonderfully quirky and forthright, and the blossoming of the relationship between the two is still one of the cutest happenings in my movie memory. I wanted to be Sam in Andrew's arms at the end of the movie, which takes a lot of work on the movie's part for me to feel that way. I applaud that.

Other scenes and ideas in this movie, though, felt contrived. The party at the beginning of the movie feels too much as if Zach Braff just up and said "hey, we need a party scene in this movie where people are rocking out and doing drugs. This'll make it cooler. Hey, let's put one....hmm...here!" and it just didn't work for me. Andrew's friend who works at the graveyard didn't really sell with me either - but the number one thing that felt like it was placed there just for the sake of being like any other movie was the sex scene in the hotel. Please, Braff, don't act like a wannabe when directing other movies in the future, I beg of you. Installing certain typical scenes and people will not win you any points with me... you'll only end up looking like a total gimmick.

Still, there was a certain charm in Andrew and Sam's trek through the old quarry to meet with the man who lived in the boat, in the middle of the thunderstorm. It reminded me of all those times in my life that seem miserable or pointless in the present moment but then I wind up realizing that everything was absolutely, completely perfect the way it was. Andrew and Sam, of course, are brought together; he also comes closer in his own way to understanding his messed up mother. And finally, he begins to manage to find his way out of the numb haze that the medications and family history had draped all over his soul. With the help of Sam, who has her own issues, he finally decides to choose life so to speak. I don't think he had made that conscious decision until now. The dream (I am guessing it is a dream?) at the beginning of this movie perhaps illustrates just how detached from the world that Andrew had been - he is about to die and he doesn't seem to care. Funny, talking about this makes me realize that time and time dilation seem to present a type of theme in the movie. When Andrew takes ecstasy, he once again recedes from his life and even mentally shuts down enough to let people draw all over him (like his father had, mentally.).

One thing I must keep emphasizing in this movie is Sam. She is random, straightforward and sports a loving, patchwork family that makes me want to look closer... and she's the first female character I could really relate to during a time when I didn't watch any but the most mainstream and stereotypical movies around. She was a relief for me. Some scenes of her were odd, though - awkward almost as a real life moment would be, with silence followed by denial or rapid changing of subject, as if she were either ad libbing or forgot her lines or something. I wasn't sure what to make of those moments. I felt awkward right along with them.

Both the end of the movie and the soundtrack were lovely. I wish that his movie had more fine tuning and grace with several scenes and turns of plot, so it's no award winner, but given that this was Zach Braff's first directed piece, it's pretty darn good.