Garden State

Along with Despicable Me, the movie Garden State is a definite permanent my Top Ten Movies list. Garden State is written and directed by Zach Braff. The main characters in the movie are played by Zach Braff as Andrew Largeman -- an overly medicated, depressed, emotionless aspiring actor -- and Natalie Portman as Sam -- an eccentric young woman who knowingly and compulsively lies without understanding what makes her do it.

The plot revolves around Andrew Largeman and his return to his hometown in New Jersey for his mother's funeral. When he was a young boy, Largeman accidentally pushed his mother over a dishwasher door leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. Since that incident, he has been heavily medicated with antidepressants leaving him completely void of feeling any significant emotions or shedding a single tear. Upon returning home, Largeman meets Sam, a talkative and eccentric local who is always lying. Sam's light heartedness and sense of humor often contrasts with Andrew's numb state of being.

This movie is a favorite of mine for two main reasons. The first being the awesome soundtrack which Zach Braff composed him self. This soundtrack features songs by Thievery Corporation, The Shins (on my Top Ten List for bands), Simon & Garfunkel (also on that list), Zero 7, and many others. The carefully chosen songs compliment the film in every way possible. The second reason is for the cinematography of the whole film. Something about the way this movie was filmed makes every single scene, no matter how simply, look beautiful. This combined with the music in the film carry the story line throughout the whole movie, without ever overcrowding the script.