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I saw this movie yesterday and I could not really find any reviews of the film I did see a lot of comments over on IMDB claiming that his is a Garden State rip off.
I am wondering when people are going to stop being so short sided and realize that just because a movie is about a relationship between damaged people, has a soundtrack with an indie flair and lots of dialogue is not a reason to write it off.
First and foremost this film is not like Garden State because Justin Theroux is willing to play with the craft. In Garden State Braff seems to just give direction, put the camera down and cut it together which is not criticism, it is just the style of the film. Theroux here is obviously playing with the craft of filmmaking, taking bigger challenges in the editing room and allowing the story to jump from the past, to the present and even into our protagonists subconscious.
All in all I walked away from the film with a very good feeling. I always suspected that Mandy Moore had some acting chops and she shows them for the first time in this film playing someone so different from herself. Crudup was good as a character with obvious problems but you still found yourself rooting for and he has the ability to bring some comedy to the role. Biggest surprise however is Theroux who I did not know what to expect from the first time director. He has always been an actor I enjoyed watching and I figured observing a great filmmaker like David Lynch would give him a leg up out of the gate and I think I am right. You can certainly see some influences from Lynch in the film.
Most refreshing however is he seems to be a change from your typical Actor Turned director. Usually you see an actor who wants to make that role for themselves that they know they could kill or has that story inside them that they feel needs to be told and puts themselves in a main role (i.e. Robert Redford). Theroux however didn’t even write the script and stayed behind the camera. He probably could have played the lead role or put himself in the picture but it seems that he is trying to hone this new skill and become a respected director. While this was not a perfect picture and probably won't end up on my Top 10 of the year he is definitely someone who I will look for in the future as a director and an actor.