Garden State (2004)
Note: Some spoilers towards the
end.
For a few years, when I first got
to Austin, I hardly ever watched television. That's
why it wasn't until recently that I started watching
the NBC comedy "Scrubs." Sandwiched in between "Friends"
and "Will and Grace" on Thursday nights, the show
stayed on the TV in my apartment and pretty quickly
I realized that it was quite well done and often hilarious.
Soon after starting to watch it I also began to notice
just how hot Zach Braff was. In one of the first episodes
of the show that I saw there was a scene where he
was butt-naked with nothing but an 8x10 in a picture
frame to cover the area that the persnickety censors
seem to get so riled up about. Not being a size queen,
of course, I didn't really notice which side was the
8 and which was the 10, but I did notice that Braff
was a fucking hottie. And within a couple of months
"Scrubs" became a little TV treat for me.
When word came down that Braff had
blown away Sundance audiences with a indie film he
had written, directed and starred in, I knew I wanted
to see it. Finally, I saw the trailer and it had an
amazing song and a beautiful image of Braff in a green
shirt that matched the wallpaper behind him. That
image mixed against the beautiful song used (it took
me a while to find it - "Let Go" by Frou Frou) became
the "shiver" factor for me every time I saw the trailer.
I knew I wanted to see this film.
August came and the film finally
opened in Austin. I went to the Dobie on the first
Saturday afternoon it was showing and the place was
packed. I guess I am spoiled. I left before it started.
I didn't want my experience of seeing the film to
be one of sitting off-center and trying to look over
some bald guys' head to see that green shirt scene.
This was going to be an amazing film-going experience
and I wanted it to be perfect.
But before I could see the film,
the Austin
Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival began
and I was so swept up in seeing the films there that
I couldn't find time for "Garden State." Luckily the
film was gaining steam and still filling movie theater
seats, so I knew an opportunity to see the film would
still be there after the festival was over. And, indeed,
my time came on a boring Tuesday night when my roommate
Amanda asked me if we could go see it.
"Garden State" is indeed an impressive
debut film and Braff is simply superb in it, but it
isn't everything I quite hoped it would be. While
it is indeed one of the best films out there, full
of surprises and humorous moments as well as a operating
as a poignant coming of age movie for the post- millennium
generation, there seems to be a few too many moments
where things just don't click.
But first let me tell you what does
work; First, as an actor, Braff is perfect here. He
plays a young man who has been on medication most
of his life and has just decided to stop taking it.
His evolution as a character throughout the film is
wonderful. We can actually see the fog lifting from
his eyes as the film progresses. Braff, with his beautiful
bulging eyes piercing through the cameras lens, creates
a character that we just can't help but love. Yes,
his bee- stung lips and open face make his acting
job seem quite easy but Braff is more than just facade.
As an actor, he captures the subtleties of the character
quite well and turns in an engaging, sympathetic and
heartfelt performance.
He's supported by two of the best
young actors out there, Peter Sarsgaard and Natalie
Portman. Sarsgaard proves just how amazing and versatile
he can be here, especially when you juxtapose his
performance against the many he has given in recent
years where he plays a less complex character. Sarsgaard
has been given a complicated and often unlikable character
in "Garden State" and he works magic with it. Likewise,
Portman takes a character that could be annoying and
grating in the hands of a lesser actress and makes
her charming and engaging. We immediately see why
Braff's Andrew falls in love with her.
The cinematography and framing here
is beautiful. Braff has a wonderful eye and his images
are not only beautiful but perfectly enhance his story.
One need only see the scene set in the pet cemetery
in Portman's back yard to see how beautifully Braff
films his images here. And his choice of music is
simply phenomenal. Sure, he's got awesome sombre pop
songs by Nick Drake, Simon and Garfunkel and a host
of other post-alt_pop bands to help him set a mood
here but it is he who makes the right choices aurally
here. It is Braff's keen ear and filmmaker's eye that
help make "Garden State" a beautiful and compelling
work.
The problems with the film for me
came in moments when Braff was trying to be the most
poetic. I think he tried too hard to nail down many
of the climactic emotional moments. The scene at the
quarry, the final since with his father, played by
the always great Ian Holm, and the final scene with
Portman somehow miss the mark by just a smidgeon.
But with a film that is this interesting, this well-made,
this well acted, and this funny, those seem like minor
complaints. "Garden State" is one of those rare indie
films that is actually as good as the hype.
Notes:
Also with Jean Smart, Ron Leiberman
and Method Man.
Produced by Danny DeVito as part
of his Jersey Films company.
Also with music by Coldplay, Colin
Hay, Cray Brothers, Remy Zero, Zero 7, and The Shins,
who are also mentioned. The Commodores' "Three Times
a Lady" is sung by a character in the film.
Braff considered the titles "Large"
and "Large's Ark" as titles.
Braff sent tapes of the songs in
the film with the script to producers. The soundtrack
CD features songs in the order they appear in the
movie.
I don't know what the exact connection
is but Sarsgaard and Portman have both played opposite
Hayden Christensen in the last couple years. Sarsgaard
in "Shattered Glass" and Portman in the "Star Wars"
films.
Filmed primarily in New Jersey.
Viewed in Austin in September, 2004.
