#12 - Garden State

I loved this movie!! There you have it. No setup like other reviews do. It was fun, exciting, engaging, unique, happy, sad, depressing, uplifting, all those things. I wanted to see it when it was released, but that just didnt happen. I feel lucky that it came along in the list so early. Its the only movie, of all the ones I have seen in this little rental journey of mine, that I have purchased the DVD. Remember, I am catching up with movies I have seen. Right now I am around 50 DVD's. Some of them I could buy, this one I had to buy.

First of all, Zach Braff is great. I have loved Scrubs since the first season and was pleased that he made a movie...and wrote it...and directed it. But this isn't his TV show character. Instead we are given a guy who has gone through his young life unable to relate or connect with anybody. Until he randomly meets a sweetie named Natalie Portman. For the first time he feels emotion, and he likes it!! He's not depressed and moody. There is no self pity in his character, just someone who is lost in the world because he hasnt been able to find himself or anything else. Thats one of the things I enjoyed the most about this movie, and what I also think makes it unique. So many movies have people who hate or dislike their parents, and are sad, miserable, and whiny about their lives cause they havent been perfect. Zach Braff is not angry or depressed. Instead he just hasnt been able to feel anything, until now. The scene when he finally talks to his father, was a simple, straightforward, yet completely honest and effective monologue.

Other than the characters and writing, some of the shots Zach created were completely effective in creating the feeling of anxiety that his character lived with. Now, I'm not always the first to pick up on symbolism, but there are two shots that stick in my mind as being extremely descriptive of the character. First, when he is looking at himself in the mirror and the break in the two pieces of glass goes right down the middle. Here we have a shot of an individual that is not a whole person, and when the door opens, we are shown why. Second, one of the popular shots of the movie, when he is standing in front of the wall that is made out of the same fabric as his shirt. Its not just blending in, its being lost in the surroundings. He cant stand out because he doesnt know who he is and has never been able to find out.

There is so much I can say about this movie, but I like to keep these short. The relationship between Zach and Natalie is as engaging as it is entertaining. The perfmance by Ian Holm as Zachx father is truly great. He doesnt know how to relate to his son because they have never actually talked about anything and what he thinks about Zach, isnt quite reality. But he's not an overbearing or bad parent. He just couldnt relate with his son who was unable to emote. The role of Zachs friend as someone who has felt, tried, and done numerous different things is in direct contrast to Zachs character, but still doesnt know who he is either. WATCH THIS MOVIE!!!