So, I've finally watched it. What do I do now?
(I'm listening to Gram Parsons and sorting through my impressions of the film.)
-- Before: I wanted to like Garden State, and hopefully a lot, even if I suspected that I could no longer come to it with enough innocence for that to be possible. I don't know how I thought I'd respond to it. Truth be told, large as it's loomed on the cultural landscape of late, I didn't know much about the film itself (which has been pretty deliberate on my part).
-- During: My feelings see-sawed. While I liked that the film was honest enough to wear its ideas on its sleeve, it has a tendency to be a bit obvious, and I could've done without the excessive talkiness. That said, I was at least partly won over by the sweetness of it all, and the warmth of the film's heart, and how it evokes and goes some way towards making sense of modern alienation and twenty-something driftiness. But, for whatever reason, I can't allow myself to accept the ending - which falls into the 'tendency to be a bit obvious' box - unreservedly. Isn't that the fantasy of every sensitive boy out there - that they'll be saved by some cute, quirky girl dropping into their life and making everything make sense? I don't know - maybe it's that idea that troubles me. (Dear reader, let's not excavate this thought any further...) Plus, the partial resolution of the subplot involving the father is unconvincing.
-- After (now): Well, Garden State is a good film. And I know that many, many people have had it speak to them, and have been moved by it. But I'm not one of them, at least not just now - part of me is just resistant to it. And anyway, I don't think it's that good even irrespective of my own personal quirks...these things are complicated.
