Hora de Voltar

I would give Garden State a 9 out of 10. The only reason I'm not giving it a perfect 10 is b/c it had a slow start. Besides that this movie overwhelmingly surprised me with its directing and acting. Natatlie Portman did an amazing job playing Sam. She really worked the part. Zach Braff's directing debut is stunning. I had never heard of Braff except for his character on the TV show Scrubs. He also did an excellent job acting. There were so many surprising elements thrown out during the movie. Braff just kept piling one thing on top of the next to make the story more interesting as it rolled on. I was very pleased with Garden State!!!!!!!!!11

This was almost the perfect movie. The acting was great, the direction was great, the script was brilliant, and the location shoots were perfect. Probably the most amazing thing about this movie was the screen stealing show stopping performance of Natalie Portman. She showed this brilliance in "Leon" aka "The Professional", and once again amazed with her talent. It contains different humour to your usual American movie and was a needed hit in the movie circles of 2004.

My only problem was a little part of the story that seemed out of place and not needed. This is not a spoiler, it is his friends wealth and invention. They just seemed unnecessary to me. This is a minor complaint and I eagerly anticipate Zach's next work. He could quite possibly end out being more famous behind the camera than in front of it.

First off, for anyone thinking about seeing this movie, go do it!! No matter what anyone has told you already about the film. I notice a lot of people writing that they didn't like Garden State and that's fine, I personally thought it was excellent. To me it was real life on film, and within that real life there are very different people. Unfortunately not everyone wants to see movies that remind them of reality, and I guess not everybodies reality is the same as mine. Even so Garden State is well worth the watching, if only to remind us that the comatose state most of us live in is only temporary, and the joy of a life well lived is forever.

This movie was incredible. As a massive fan of light romance 80's movies and old action films, I absolutely fell in love. The plot was no where near heavy, the characters were inspirational and once again, Natalie Portman's cute and quirky character played a massive roll in the beauty of this movie. The story, though containing heavy content to do with the death of Zach's mother, managed to stay subtle and tenuous keeping the comedy theme going. An incredible piece and a must watch to all that have the chance to witness the film.

'Garden State' came out in the Uk on December 10th. I had heard wonderful things about it from friends and relatives in the US - I wasn't disappointed...

From start to finish, the film made me laugh and cry. I thought the opening in which we met Braff lying emotionless in bed. Listening to the answer machine message from his dad about his mother's death was disturbing and really drew me in.

So many memorable moments: The funeral, touching and funny, the party scenes, the scan scene...And as for the dialogue - well, sharp and witty. I don't think I will ever forget Natalie Portman's dancing in her bedroom - just to be 'unique' or Zach Braff's touching comments about what makes a 'home' in the swimming pool.

Even those touching moments were funny; the fact that he couldn't swim!

As a mid twenty-something, This film really spoke to me. It's that question we all dread. We've graduated university, got jobs....then what?

Fantastic...just a shame it is not on wide release here...

One of the best films I have seen in ages!

9/10