O Curioso Caso de Benjamin Button

Possibly the most anticipated winter film of 2008, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a curious film indeed. It's got an intriguing and completely absorbing story, as well as my favorite director, David Fincher, on the top of his game. With "Button", Fincher cements his place as one of the best directors alive, as his film is nothing short of magical, mesmerizing, riveting, ground breaking, and ultimately, timeless.

When I first heard about this movie, I had to wonder...how was Fincher, the guy responsible for realistic, gripping, crime thrillers like Seven and Zodiac going to pull off the fantasy film of a lifetime? Armed with a massive budget, Fincher uses everything a director can use to craft the most charming and technically brilliant film of the year. It's a film to be cherished for ages.

"Button" has struck me like this because a recurring theme in the film is that age is only a number, and that we as people can choose what we do with our lives, no matter what our age is. What better way to tell this message than through a story where the titular character ages backwards, and must experience life in such a way? How does one fall in love when he could one day appear young enough to be his spouse's child? How does a 5 year old play with the neighborhood children when he's confined to a wheelchair stricken with old age? Fincher's epic explores our choices, lives, and the timelessness of life itself.

Brad Pitt plays the title role of Benjamin Button with a certain air of likability like he always does. While I felt he did a good job with the part, he didn't have to do much...Benjamin, fittingly, is a rather quiet character (I'd be willing to bet he narrates more than he actually talks in the film). In terms of acting, the film belongs to the ladies, Cate Blanchett and Taraji P. Henson in particular. Though Blanchett may seem overrated to some, there's no denying her unrivaled talent at playing a character as complex and deep as Daisy, and she pulls it off with ease and charisma. Taraji P. Henson will warm your heart as Benjamin's mother, as she's humorous, warm, and loving, so loving that I felt as if she was my mother.

The main complexity behind the film, especially with a director like David Fincher, is keeping the film grounded in reality, while maintaining the undeniable magic within. As a director, you don't want to lose too much of either quality, instead keeping a healthy balance of the two. I feel that Fincher accomplished this perfectly. He is mainly helped out by a magical score, and absolutely stunning cinematography (which immediately identified it as a Fincher film, because of the darkness and lighting of it).

Despite the wonder and awe of the film, mixed with the realism that Fincher always brings, the true allure of the film is not just Benjamin's aging problem, but the romance between Benjamin and Daisy, which is beautiful. Two people in love, regardless of age, time, or place. It's one of the most compelling romances of the year.

"Button" is also the most technically well made movie of 2008, as the true standouts are the Visual Effects and the Makeup, both of which are Oscar worthy. Pitt plays the character at almost every age, but it's almost impossible to tell when the CGI is being used on him. You know it's there, obviously, but you can't tell it's being used. When the transition is just smooth enough for the Visual Effects to be retired, but just rough enough to use makeup, it's absolutely perfect. If you've ever wanted to see Brad Pitt look 20 again, look no further, as the effects that make our actors young again (the same goes for Blanchett) are just as stunning as those that make them older.

Despite a long runtime, the film never drags. If I had to point out one thing I would've liked to have seen a little more of, it would've been more of Benjamin as a little kid, as I felt that was rushed (for those who don't know what I mean, I mean the last parts of the film when he's old, but his body is young). This doesn't hurt the film in any way, as it's just my wishful thinking.

I know I've used the word 'magical' a lot in this review, and don't think it's on accident. If I could pick one word to describe David Fincher's masterpiece, that would be it: magical. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is a captivating piece of art that shouldn't be missed by anyone.

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" sure got a lot of attention when it came out in 2008. It got so much attention that it received three Oscars and is ranked in the IMDb Top 250--currently at #247. And, as a result, when I finally got around to seeing it, my expectations were way, way too high. I was expecting too much, I am sure, as it's hard for a film to live up to all this hoopla. Now if I look at the film and try to ignore all these ridiculously high expectations, I see that it is indeed an exceptional film...but perhaps not quite the 'must-see' that I thought it was. I can't put my finger on it...it just didn't seem like a film a cinema freak must watch...though it was a nice, gentle viewing experience. And, after seeing this and "Slumdog Millionaire", I can see why "Benjamin Button" didn't capture the Best Picture Oscar.

Probably the best way to describe this film is like "Forrest Gump" run in reverse...and without the laughs or meetings with presidents and all the celebrity status. That's because although Benjamin SHOULD be world famous for being the only person to ever live life backwards, curiously he isn't and people seem to almost take it in stride. In addition, and this part DID bother me, everyone's performance seemed way, way, way too restrained. There were very, very few emotional highs in the film--and even those were curiously subdued. To me, that's what's curious about this "Curious Case"---why such an excellent film pulled its emotional punches throughout the film. As a result, when it should have been exciting, it wasn't...or not nearly enough. Still, it's well worth seeing...it has some lovely romantic elements and is a sweet film.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' has been transformed into a splendid film by David Fincher. A marvelously made film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is one of the best movies of 2008. The cast is terrific and director David Fincher beautifully puts together the tale of Benjamin's life. The only large flaw many will find is that the concept of the film's premise seems too unrealistic.

The film tells the life of Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt). Born as an old man, Benjamin ages backwards; gradually getting younger as those around him age normally. Benjamin is abandoned at birth and picked up at an old-age home. As a child - or rather as a hunched over 80 year old - he meets a girl named Daisy (Cate Blanchett). Together they engage in innocent child games, and through this they develop a special connection. As Benjamin goes off into the world, Daisy continues to grow up, later pursuing her dream of dancing. Benjamin joins a crew and sails round the world, ending up in Russia. Then, after Pearl Harbor, Benjamin joins in the war effort, following battles across the north Pacific and only engaging in one combat situation.

Returning to New Orleans, Benjamin has grown taller, lost many of his wrinkles, and grown more hair. The visual effects are spectacular in following Brad Pitt through the various stages of his life. From an old man to a young teen, Benjamin always resembles Pitt. Upon arrival in his childhood home, Benjamin learns that many of the tenants he knew have passed on. This is the tragedy of aging backwards, those you knew continue to age forward as they exit this world while you do the opposite. Benjamin also meets Daisy again, who after many years has become a successful dancer and has blossomed into a beautiful young woman. Long gone is the innocence of childhood, and Daisy has become intimate with many men in New York City. Missing by an inch, she and Benjamin do not initiate a relationship until later in the film.

Narrated from the present, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button starts with Daisy's daughter reading Benjamin's diary to her mother in a hospital on the cusp of Hurricane Katrina. This allows the narration to occasionally halt for an elderly Daisy to comment on events of her life. A key motif running throughout this film is time. Beginning and ending with sequences about the same clock, David Fincher seems to allude to the notion that things fade, and that we must hold on to the things we love in the time we have with them.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a fantastic film. Beautifully created, David Fincher paints an image of the south of the United States in the early 1900s which seems both realistic and fantastical. The film also illustrates war, travel, death, and many of the other events of life. Brad Pitt shows emotional depth as Benjamin, and Cate Blanchett is terrific as Daisy. It is surprising how much we can take away from a 166 minute movie, the audience feels as if they have known Benjamin and Daisy for all of their lives. While some may question the premise of the film, arguing that time is linear and that the plot is therefore incoherent, there can be no arguing that this film does its best to develop human relationships and to establish emotional connections between characters. As Roger Ebert once said, "A film is not about its subject; it's about how it's about its subject", and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button certainly handles its subject material splendidly.

Other than F. Scott Fitzgerald's vivid description of how Benjamin Button has reversed the aging process in his life, there is nothing of his the plot of his story. But the idea behind the updated version is as vivid as when he put it to paper.

When Fitzgerald published the story it was 1927 probably at the height of the jazz age and his creative powers. As he wrote it, Bnejamin Button was born after the Civil War and lived through World War I. But he lived backwards as it were. In Camelot, King Arthur describes Merlin as not aging, but that he 'youthens'. That coined word describes just what happens to Benjamin.

When he's born he comes out of the womb a little old man, something like you might imagine Yoda if you can ever imagine him as a child. With all the usual problems of old age. But as he grows older chronologically, Benjamin loses all those infirmities gradually and gets younger and younger. Several actors play him before he finally morphs into Brad Pitt.

Which makes the achievement of director David Fancher all the more impressive. Although Brad Pitt was recognized with an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, the directing of several others almost in tandem to play the same role at different stages is a great achievement. Too bad he didn't get the Oscar for that alone although Fancher was nominated also.

In fact The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button got a flock of Oscar nominations including Best Picture as well as those mentioned. It won for Art&Set Direction, Visual Effects, and in fact if it hadn't won for makeup the Oscars should have been picketted that year.

Taraji Henson was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress. When Benjamin is born and his mother dies giving him birth and his father abandons him, the caregiver who is black takes him in to raise in her large and extended family. Given both his physical condition and the circumstances of his childhood, Benjamin had one unique perspective on life indeed. Henson is nothing short of fabulous in her portrayal.

Cate Blanchett who was overlooked in the Oscars for this role plays the woman whom he loves, but who is working her way up in physical age while Pitt is working down. The film is seen from both her's and his perspective as she tells her daughter to read from this diary that Benjamin kept. When they met at the middle though as Benjamin ran the bases backward through life, there love was real and really physical.

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button is a remarkable achievement that gave some career roles to some fine players.

Brad Pitt makes his mark as an actor here as Benjamin Button, a man with a strange disorder - physically aging backwards. Along his emotional journey of life he encounters friends, family, loved ones, adventures, and most of all, chances.

Rarely has a film keeps the realism intact while still sustaining the magic of it. Truly, David Fincher and Pitt have created a film that is leaps and bounds ahead of its time. Taking a strange and fascinating tale and making it into one of the decade's very best films is something of an accomplishment.

Pitt, here, is an actor, not just a pretty face anymore. With the state-of-the-art visual effects at his hand, he pretty much carries the whole show. It is perhaps the first time since Andy Serkis' rendition of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, that great acting has eclipsed terrific special effects. You genuinely feel and sympathize for his character, rooting for him all the way. Pitt owns the film, in short. He and David Fincher make a great team, and they look unstoppable to create more terrific films.

For the supporting cast, Cate Blanchett plays the love interest of Daisy to great effect. Her tale with Benjamin's make them somewhat star-crossed lovers. I won't go that far into detail but you'll see much later into the film. Taraji P. Henson also shines as Benjamin's surrogate mother, who gives her son the support he needs. Not to mention Tilda Swinton as an early love interest.

The screenplay by Eric Roth is excellent. Told from Benjamin's point of view with some highlights by Daisy, there are no clichéd dialogs to be heard, and the script is filled with equal moments of joy, ecstasy, sorrow, and understanding. Some dialog here is timeless and quotable, such as the film's tag-line; "We are defined by opportunities, even by the ones we miss." When you age backwards, you get more chances rather than missing it. I love that and wish for it, but sadly that is what movies are made for. And if that is what you've been thinking after or during your viewing of this film, then this film has succeeded.

David Fincher is a tour-de-force of film-making. Straying away from gritty violent thrillers such as "Zodiac", the unmatched "Fight Club", and "Se7en", he takes a bizarre love story, the most expensive budget he's faced, and crafts a film with such substance and flair that he adds quality to the film. There are moments in the film which make it obvious Fincher is calling the shots. The paced is slow, but this allows us to absorb and be infatuated with the characters. There is not one dull moment in the film. It is constantly gripping and re-watchable.

Technically speaking, the cinematography and lighting is absolutely perfect; gorgeous to the eyes and senses, and while giving the right tone and feel to the film shows us director Fincher's trademark. Accompanying this is the beautiful and heart-wrenching score by Alexandre Desplat, which is absolutely flawless. The special effects are unique and well-made, and you'll find yourself confused to whether certain scenes were made with special effects or not. If you want to see actors when they were young this is the best rendition of effects possible, and I hope the future movies use more of this amazing technology to make their stars more bankable. The special effects deserve their Oscar for it is the best I've seen in any movie in 2008.

In short, it is a beautiful, tragic, and terrific movie. It is certainly timeless and will stand the test of time, and hopefully, age well like fine wine (no pun intended). This absolute gem deserves the nominations it gets, too bad it was released the same year as Slumdog Millionaire.

Overall rating: 9/10