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Maybe that’s all family really is. A group of people who miss the same imaginary place.
It’s good when people take a chance. Zach Braff is primarily known as an actor on the tv series “Scrubs”, but with Garden State he also shows that he’s a talented director. It’s taken me a while to see the film, but I’m glad that I did. It’s visually clever and has a great script that follows a depressed actor as he returns home for the first time in a decade. What I loved in the film were the performances and the gaps. The spaces between people and the gap between who you are and who you were. Coming home is always interesting with what you remember coexisting with what has changed. Have your memories changed, has the placed changed or are you seeing what was there, but you couldn’t see it when you were there. What helps the film work is that it happens over a series of days as our hero returns home. There is a great cast with solid chemistry and characters who are more complicated than in most mainstream films. I’m convinced that any artistic endeavor that is taken on by a cast crew that is excited and committed to the project will have a great time and make some great work. I got that sense from Garden State.
The other fascinating thing about the entire project is the web site for the film that also features a blog by Zach Braff that is sporadic, but really written by the busy actor. It’s nice to see someone working a bit outside of the more traditional publicity infrastructure and really blogging and connecting with people.
technorati tags: film, reviews, gardenstate
