Garden State

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A phone rings. Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff), nicknamed “Large� by his friends, doesn’t answer it. His father’s voice (Ian Holm) painfully booms across the answering machine with some very tragic news that requires him to go home to New Jersey for the first time in 9 years. Many individuals would respond with unrelenting pain and grief. Not Large. He retreats to his medicine cabinet where he takes a dose of antidepressant medication to numb himself of the pain caused by this tragedy.

Once Large gets home, he hooks up with his old buddies, who have basically grown up to be 20-something-year-old slackers. Unlike Large, they use drugs, sex, and other methods to numb themselves of life’s pains and disappointments. After one night with these guys, Large begins to wonder if coming home was a good idea. Then he meets Sam (Natalie Portman), who single-handedly transforms the Garden State into his own personal Garden of Eden.

Garden State is an awesome film. It is a wonderful testimony to the power of love and the power of healing. The centerpiece of the film is the relationship and love that is developed between Large and Sam. The two meet when Large visits a shrink -- advised by his father, [SPOILER] whom we later find out has been prescribing for Large just about every antidepressant med that’s on the market. [END SPOILER] Large gives Sam a ride home. Sam gives Large a whole lot more. Through their friendship and, ultimately, their love, Large is given the freedom to feel again. He feels unconditional love through a simple, yet powerful hug from Sam’s mom. He feels strength that enables him to uncover a deep, dark family secret. He gets the ultimate taste of true freedom by screaming at the top of his lungs down a deep, dark abyss.

The message I got from the film is actually a pro-Christian message (of sorts). Two book series that I’ve studied came to mind while watching this film: John Eldridge’s Wild At Heart and the Cloud-Townsend books, including the Boundaries series, Hiding From Love, and others. Those books emphasize the point that the only way to become truly free is to go back and revisit the most painful moments of our lives.

That's what I saw in this film. Because of Sam's influence in his life, Large was able to stop numbing himself through those antidepressant meds and he was enabled to finally face the painful moments in his life. The pain was keeping him . . . as well as his dad and mom (as we heard through earlier stories during her life) . . . in prison. He went home and broke free. That's what the cry in the deep, dark abyss represents (as I stated earlier): a cry for freedom.

This film is Zach Braff’s directorial debut and its an impressive one. It takes him a bit of time to settle into a reasonable plot thread in the film, but once he zeroes in on his main plot focus, the film soars like an eagle. His relationship with Sam is totally believable thanks to Natalie Portman’s performance. This is the best performance of her career. She hasn’t been this great since The Professional. If Portman had played Padme Amidala in the Star Wars Prequels -- most especially Episode 2’s love story arc -- with the same conviction, vulnerability and force that she displays in this film, maybe audiences would not have laughed her and Anakin’s puppy-love teenage romance off the screen. This film proves that she’s got the chops. Here’s hoping that this film gives her the chance to exercise those mighty chops in Episode 3.

Christians often claim the famous passage describing the ultimate work of Christ through His crucifixion in Isaiah 53:5 (By His wounds/stripes we are healed). Many of us have missed the power of that declaration by applying the scripture only to physical healing. Christ came to heal our sickened and weary bodies. But He also takes great pleasure in healing our souls from the pains and griefs that life brings us. In this film, Sam is truly a Christ-like character. Her love enables Large to feel the pain he’s tried so hard to hide in his life. [SPOILER] She even celebrates his breakthrough by catching one of Large’s tears in a paper cup to be preserved forever. That may seem corny to some, but to me, that’s a beautiful description of Christ’s love. [END SPOILER]

If you haven’t yet seen Garden State, I advise you to check it out. You’ll be glad you did.

Links
—Review
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections