Zach Braff's existential movie Garden State, starring himself as Andrew Largemen is an interesting exposition of existentialism. At the beginning of the movie, Andrew is a walking dead man: he feels nothing. Large is so detached from the world that he cannot even cry at his mother's funeral. He has essentially gone through much of life, with the help of steady medication, completely devoid of emotion. Andrew lets life pass him by and merely watches, not seeing the point of action in a hopeless world, where he can only make himself comfortable as he moves ever closer to the day that he will die. However, a pathological liar named Sam (Natalie Portman) changes his perspective on things.
Sam brings to light the uniqueness of life, and the value of each passing moment attempting to prove that actions are what define a person's life. Her impression upon, and the absence of his previous medication, allows Largeman to feel again, and begin to take action and take charge of his life. He fosters love for Sam, and because of this love drastic changes occur. She, along with a day-long journey to the bottom of a quarry in Newark, NJ, allows Large to see how much better it is to feel and to love. Andrew realizes that living life is worth the pain that ultimately comes with living. He realizes how much he missed love, and how to forgive himself for (roundabout albeit) killing his mother. Andrew is transformed from scum, to man in the course of several days and makes decisions to end his inaction. He existentially chooses to make choices.
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