What You Dont Have Bread! (Garden State (DVD))

Member Name: JayHall1991

Product:	Garden State (DVD)
Date:	23/04/06 (54 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Touching, Funny, Burning With Life, Amazing Performances

Disadvantages: Do Not know

After leaving his home town nine years ago and moving on to become a fairly successful television actor in Los Angeles Andrew Largeman, is dragged back when his less able bodied mother drowns in a tragic accident. Recently he has been suffering from very brief but incredibly painful headaches and is becoming more and more worried about his health, since just a young child of nine 'Large' has been taking pills, prescribed by his psychiatrist father, to curb his occasionally aggressive outbursts. Feeling numb, tired and depressed Andrew decides to jump on his bike and just ride as fast as he possibly can, but when he bumps into Sam a beautiful, compulsive liar he finds a reason to feel again, and so he embarks on a moving and hilarious journey of self discovery.

It is an extremely rare occurrence when you stumble across a film, that has this much heart, soul and sense of fun. The thing that I most enjoyed though, was the extraordinary characters, layered and utterly realistic without being boring, they really are amazing. This film, isn't about perfect people, and never resorts to stereotypes (a thing that I am learning to hate more and more) Everyone has an interesting history, enchanting idiosyncrasies and relationships. It works as a fascinating study of people and how we question our own morals as well as everyone else's, we all do things that were not proud of, and judging people on first appearances is one of them. The people in this film are on the outside odd-balls and not necessarily people we would talk to, but the writing is such that we quickly engage with them and care.

Zach Braff's performance as the mixed up but ultimately lovable main character is amazingly well observed, funny and touching. I instantly saw the humanity in him and I thought the his immense comic timing help the film move along at an amazingly brisk pace, he obviously related to the character that he had scripted, which in turn helped us to engage with him. He approaches the role with a refreshing honesty, as he is enable to interact with the people around him in an effective manner, I thought it was a heart wrenching performance without Zach having to throw himself about to make the audience feel something, he is easy to relate to pulls an amazing performance out of himself.

Natalie Portman is breathlessly comfortable in front of the lenses, she simply burns with energy and enthusiasm and I just fell in love with her from her first scene. She really does put in a surprisingly touching and warmly affectionate performance, it isn't a stereotypical character and Natalie plays that to her advantage, she doesn't try to mold her role into something else that may be more expectable to audiences, she just simply glows on the screen and gathers an incredible chemistry with her partner.

The script for Garden State shines with sparkling wit, intelligence and above all humanity. It doesn't set out to answer life's big questions, and it doesn't try and tell people how to live their lives, it really is just a sweet antidote for our cynical world, it forces us to believe in love and the incredible healing power of laughter. It manages to make us believe without being to unrealistic or predictable. It effectively establishes amazing and complex characters, and it has some real, genuine emotion under the surface.

Zach Braff isn't afraid to experiment with sweeping long shots, engaging emotional triggers and quirky scenes which, even though may have their own little idiosyncrasies and flaws build our love for it, and only build it's authenticity. His direction is well paced, heartfelt and intelligent.

The soundtrack that is used in absolutely amazing and the CD is well worth buying. The music is masterfully chosen and weaves into the movie wonderfully. Each track builds the atmosphere and aids many of the more emotional scenes. With moving hits by such greats as Coldplay and The Shins (that are lovingly mentioned in one, particularly memorable scene) which is what you will find. When you hear one of the songs you will be instantly sent back to the film, as the movie is so touching and it will last on you.

Not only is Garden State memorable, but it dares to be light hearted in a cynical world where we largely dismiss films in the romance genre as predictable and uninteresting. But the film defies it's genre and indeed our expectations. It is full of wisdom and refreshing quirkiness

Overall I thought that Garden State was one of the most intelligent emotionally engaging and heart-warming films I have seen in a very long while. Zach Braff really does shine with an amazing script, sharp direction and a truly amazing performance, but he is out acted by Natalie Portman who sparkles with energy and humour. A funny romantic comedy, that truly is for adults.

DVD Speacile Features:

Feature Commentary By Zach Braff And Actor Natalie Portman: I really thought that this commentary was one of the best I have ever heard, It helps to get an insight into the mind of the creator and I thought that it was occasionally funny, Zach gives us great anecdotes into the construction of the film.

Feature Commentary By Zach Braff And Lawrence Sher Also Myron Kerstein And Judy Becker: I tried to listen to this, but I found it monotonous.

Deleted Scenes With Optional Commentary: I really liked all of the deleted scenes, I thought that they would of all enhanced the film even further if they had been included, and they are all fairly funny.

Making Of Garden State Featurette: The making of feature on this disk, isn't really that interesting, I enjoyed the brief interviews with both Natalie Portman and Zach Braff, but apart from them, it was just your average 'Making of' offering a little insight into the film.

Out Takes And Bloopers: Very funny and have a good spirit to them, but not all that interesting.

You can Buy Garden State From:

Amazon.co.uk for £11.89 ASIN: B0007XMLRU

Thank You Everyone For Reading And Rating! Best Wishes : ) Jay

Summary: A Touching and Moving film