Garden State (2004)

Premise: For his mother's funeral, Andrew 'Large' Largeman (Zach Braff) returns home after a nine year absence. He decides to simultaneously take a vacation from his meds, which means he must avoid his father (Ian Holm), a psychiatrist who prescribed them in the first place. Large reconnects with an old friend, Mark (Peter Sarsgaard), and he meets a pathological liar, Sam (Natalie Portman), who, by her own admission, isn't very good at it.

Really good. This film is really good. I just wanted to fall into it, which is a rare feeling in a film nowadays.

Braff presents a triple treat in this film as writer, director, and star. And he almost, almost makes it. He is a talented actor, and his screenplay is near unbelievable from a first timer. It’s so highly quotable and so very genuine. Both are admirable and precious qualities in writing.

Portman’s character, while endearing as a fictional person, would be one of the most annoying people in real life. Portman shines right through, and the film is the better for her in the role.

Braff is incredibly well supported by Holm and Sarsgaard. They both bite into their roles with quiet hunger, simply and powerfully providing the kind of background that we depend on.

And the soundtrack is phenomenal. I’m making my own version of it right now. You’ll have to hear it to believe it.

Are you yet wondering why I said that Braff almost makes it? Where does he fall short?

His direction. His direction style is too gimmicky, too much like the sitcom that made him famous. And he goes for the big Hollywood ending, which basically nullifies any ingenuity that may have come before it. Does he have “a genuine filmmaker’s eye”, as I have heard?

Perhaps. Only a second offering will prove or refute that state. He has a voice, but that’s not enough.

We need to hear it.