The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a great movie. It is impossible to deny that, impossible not to see the beautiful cinamtagraphy and the wonderful script, the brilliant acting. It is the sort of movie that makes you want to sit down and cuddle with a deep blanket and a warm coffee, watching another person’s vision of how life is. The bad thing is that the movie is long and in love with itself. It thinks that it is so beautiful, so amazing that of course you want to watch every scene, hear every scrap of dialogue. That was my biggest problem. There were obvious pieces of the puzzle that we could have skipped and still caught the general idea. However, I applaud David Fincher for forcing upon me his decisions without an apology. That is the real definition of an artist.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is about a child born old, and he ages in reverse. The older he gets, the younger his body gets. The idea that you are a baby when you are born and you are a baby when you die is given legs here. The parts where Brad Pitt’s character is an old man, slowly getting younger, that is the true treat. The special effects are stunning and almost seemless. No matter what they do, Hollywood will never completely blend the real and the fake, that’s impossible. Our eyes can just tell. But it is hard not to enjoy watching this strange progression. What is interesting is how director David Fincher handles the tiny aesthetics of being old to young. And old man is curious, patient, and at peace. A young man is head strong, lost to the wind and constantly bored. It is nice to see a young person tackle the world as an old man would, with open arms and careful temperment. And watching Cate Blantchett go from young to old is just as interesting and investing.
The only thing that bothers me is the tone. It is one pitch. It is a great pitch, but it never varies. I never worry that Benjamin might die, or that him and his love will never find themselves. I never worry about anything, because the movie is laid out on a plate. Add to that the typical “He is your father” moments and you sort of roll your eyes. Typical movie crap like that can’t be denied, I suppose. We should make more of an effort to atleast try and dodge them. But that shouldn’t stop you from seeing one of the best movies this year.
i was pleasantly surprised to find out that F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the short story upon which Benjamin Button (the movie) was based, then mention this in the opening credits