4. Garden State (2004)
Zach Braffs directorial debut, indie rom-com Garden State isnt for everybody, whilst some critics viewed it as mawkish, its relatively popularity was surely unexpected. Garden State was a crossover hit, an indie film that found a mainstream audience and whilst perhaps not perfect, a huge part of the films appeal is Portmans role as early manic pixie dream girl, Sam. On the kook-o-metre Portmans Sam lays just the right side of adorable. If every Zooey Deschanel character is a 10 then Portmans Sam is probably about an 8 or 9. Yes, she collects vinyl, has earnest funerals for her many hamsters, has a random African adopted brother, wears a rugby helmet, tap-dances and listens to The Shins, yet somehow Portman makes it work. In a part that could be horribly irksome (and perhaps is to some), its vital that Sam is likeable, as despite the amusing supporting characters; Sam carries the film opposite Braffs sad sack, Andrew. Sam is perhaps not Portmans most three-dimensional character, but her bubbly energy is infectious and charming. She is to the Andrew what she is to the film, because if Andrew is the audiences surrogate then theyre going to need cheering up too. Shes the lifeblood and like the film or not, imagine how much worse it would be without her.