The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Film Review
Directed by: David Fincher
Written by: Eric Roth
Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton
Adapted from the short story, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Rating: 99%
“My name is Benjamin Button, and I was born under unusual circumstances.” And unusual circumstances it was. The movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, showcases the wonderful story about a person who ages backwards while the rest of the world ages forwards, and I believe that this is the best, most touching movie of 2007. Curiously, tears still well up in my eyes as I recall memories of the movie I have just witnessed. I walked into the movie with high expectations and three hours later, I walked out completely inspired, with tears springing from my eyes, embarrassingly. As emotional as it was long, David Fincher took not only Benjamin Button, the main character played by Brad Pitt, but also the rest of the marveled audience along for a thrilling ride; witnessing the beauties and complexities of what life has to offer through the eyes of a very “curious” man. The movie starts off in the present, 2007, in New Orleans, during the time that the utter, heart wrenching tragedy that became known as Hurricane Katrina approached furiously. We encounter a very old woman, Daisy, played beautifully by Cate Blanchett, fighting for her life in a hospital, accompanied by her youngish daughter named Caroline, played by Julia Ormond. And this is where our enthralling fantasy tale commences as Caroline reads excerpts from Benjamin Button’s diary, relaying important events of his life to her dying mother. Throughout Benjamin Button’s life; fit snugly, but slightly overwhelmingly, in almost three hours, he encounters many people who, as Benjamin Button himself admits, “The people we remember the least make the greatest impression on us”.
The story, while being the weakest part of the beautifully crafted movie, was still very well done, although it bears strong similarities to Forrest Gump which, strangely enough, was crafted by the same writer, Eric Roth. The plot is ambiguous, but mainly adheres to the basic premise of the short story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in Tales of the Jazz Age
: about a person that ages backwards. Generally a love story, Benjamin Button yearns to be with his childhood love, Daisy, while also viewing life from an optimistic, novel perspective. The movie, almost three hours long, displayed Benjamin Button from the beginning of his life, to the end, providing the audience with prolonged but necessary insight on all the major events that happened throughout his quite interesting life. Emotions ran high in this well-crafted tale, as I felt a lot of sympathy for the grotesque looking creature that became known as Benjamin Button. Depressing enough, he commenced life where others came to die: the retirement home. Adopted by Queenie, an African-American woman played wonderfully by Taraji P. Henson, she won over my heart by depicting a doting, loving mother for “the child of God”. Expectedly, she received an Oscar nomination for her role, but ultimately lost to Penelope Cruz. Believe me, I cried hard for her. As he grew up, Benjamin had the mind and curiosity of a young child, but the body of an old man, an idiosyncrasy that hindered his childhood years dramatically. Some days, he looked out from the porch, watching eagerly as the children play on the streets, but strict Queenie kept him at bay. But fortunately for everyone, happiness ensued as a young Daisy, played magically by Elle Fanning, came to the retirement home for the first time, and from there, it’s evident that this would be a lovely romantic story. As the years went by and as Benjamin grew younger, he drifted dreamily through different relationships; the most significant being the affair he had with an upper class woman played by Tilda Swinton. But like many romantic movies, he always seemed to go back to Daisy, which could have been very expected for some, but for most, like me, was very romantic and well played. The on screen chemistry between the two was magical and the casting could not have been better..
Speaking of the cast, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button truly delivered by summoning an all-star cast to display their talents in this masterpiece. Brad Pitt, as Benjamin Button, was wonderful through all the ages and it was exceptional and magical to view Benjamin Button aging from an old, grotesque looking man with cataracts and arthritis, through the years to a cute, innocent baby. The film
also starred Cate Blanchett who delivered very well with her portrayal of Benjamin’s love interest. The makeup done on Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett was brilliant, allowing the fantasy aspect of the movie to be played to the best of its abilities. Greg Cannom actually won an Oscar for Best Makeup in the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. As mentioned before, Taraji P. Henson as Queenie was exceptional, and dare I say it again, I truly did cry when she lost the Oscar of Best Supporting Actress to to Penelope Cruz. One problem I had with the film though was the lack of emotion displayed over Queenie’s death. Going through the first part of the movie in the retirement home, the theme of death and “letting go” was prominent, and all I asked for was for her death to have been a bit more heart wrenching that’s all, I had a few more tears saved up for her. Hell, I even had more emotion for the death of a lady of whom Benjamin didn't even recall her name! The magical parts that really beautified the film though were definitely the cinematography and the art direction. Both aspects were actually nominated for Oscars. The color scheme added to the grim tone of the film and all of the sea scenes looked very well done. The scene I remember the most that really brought me to tears was when Benjamin reconciled with his real father and took him to his favorite spot to watch the sunrise. The colors were beautiful and the wide angle shot used was just excellent. But the complement of the score really added that extra “oomph” to the scene, and, expectedly, I also cried when Alexandre Desplat, the genius who composed the score, didn’t win at the Oscars. I felt that the score was just beautiful and it really complemented the movie to provide a true, emotional masterpiece.
In conclusion, I believe that David Fincher’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was a flat-out masterpiece in which he flexed his artistic muscles and showed Hollywood how a true movie is made. The love story was magnificent, the writing was wonderful and the acting was just phenomenal. This is Best Picture quality but unfortunately this year, it seems that the idea of dancing to Indian music in a train station is more Oscar material than quiet, deep reflection. My eyes are tearing up just thinking about this snub!
