Andrew Largeman shuffled through life in a lithium-induced coma until his mother's death inspired a vacation from the pills to see what might happen. A moderately successful TV actor living in Los Angeles, "Large" hasn't been home to the Garden State in nine years. But even with 3,000 miles between them, he's been unable to escape his domineering father Gideon and the silencing effect he's had on his son from afar. Stunned to find himself in his hometown after such a long absence, Large finds old acquaintances around every corner living quite unique lives as gravediggers, fast food knights and the panderers of pyramid schemes. Meanwhile, at home, he does his best to avoid a long-simmering but inevitable confrontation with his father. By a twist of fate, Large meets Sam, a girl who is everything he isn't. A blast of color, hope and quirks, Sam becomes a sidekick who refuses to ride in his sidecar. Her warmth and fearlessness give Large the courage to open his heart to the joy and pain of the infinite abyss that is life. [TRAILER]

STEVEN SNYDER'S REVIEW

Only at the end of “ Garden State” could I isolate the film’s greatest triumph: It engages us with its silence.

We live in a world overwrought with sounds and images, in a time of diminished attention spans where each shot in every movie is getting shorter and shorter. People want things faster and louder, and in many ways “ Garden State” is that rare movie which finds a balance between the glitzy and the subtle, knowing when to shut off the frills and let a moment speak for itself.

Its most powerful silence occurs between a boy and girl in front of a fireplace, and it is here when I realized how totally absorbed I was by this movie, drawing parallels between my own life and the words, fears, and complexities of these two amazing characters. While personal perspective is always essential when it comes to movies, in “Garden State” it will likely be the determining factor between those who relish this unique and personal vision and those who find it out of touch and unbelievable.

Andrew’s (Zach Braff) introduction really says it all. He sits on an airplane, dreaming about a crash, unaffected by the chaos as others panic around him. Awaking, we see an equally disturbing image: Andrew, lying in an all-white room, tucked under the covers, staring blankly at the ceiling.

We soon learn that he is a moderately-successful television star who has moved from New Jersey to California, that his mother has just died, and that he is a severely medicated and depressed peson who does not live life but has life happen to him. As director, one of Braff’s best shots finds Andrew on a couch at a party, watching passively as the foreground accelerates into a high-speed blur, reflecting Andrew’s detachment and solitude.

Going off his prescription of mind-numbing drugs, “ Garden State” is the story of how Andrew wakes up from his coma over the course of a few days, and how he finds in Sam (Natalie Portman) a woman who seems to understand him as no one else does.

The beginning of the film is a comedy reminiscent of a peculiar Wes Anderson (“The Royal Tenenbaums”) project. But unlike this year’s “Napolean Dynamite,” which ruined Anderson’s approach with a cynical worldview, “ Garden State” uses humor much the same Anderson does: To draw us in, help us accept the peculiarities of the characters and their way of life, and then use that comfort to take us beneath the surface and explore the deeper issues.

Braff and Portman are exceptional actors, transcending the script in making Andrew curiously endearing where others would have left him looking stoned and confused, and in making Sam a quirky, liberating influence for Andrew, where others would have played her as simply bizarre. Thanks to their patience, we feel like Sam appreciates Andrew for the same reasons we do.

And Braff's direction caters to these characters. Early on he uses music and montage sequences to give the story energy and to introduce us to these character’s isolation and confusion without the use of dry, expository dialogue. He then later removes the training wheels, freeing the story of its distractions and allowing Andrew and Sam to take control.

While I am aware of the film's cliches and formulas, there is still something about this film that connected with me in a visercal way. At first it is Andrew’s isolation and despair that reminded me of my uncertainties and fear at the crucial crossroads of my life. Later on it is Andrew's awakening and liberation, screaming at the top of a canyon in defiance of the world, that struck a chord of rebellion within me.

There are moments in my life when I've screamed, and when I’ve ignored all else to take a leap of faith in regards to faith, love, or family. I'm willing to bet that I'm not the only one who will relate.

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