The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I don't have too much to say about this film, except that it was one of the most beautiful, touching, poignant, and bittersweet films I have ever seen.

Benjamin Button lives his life in reverse. Despite this, it's a great life, full of adventure and love and learning. He finds out that no matter what, it's the people who make life so special.

The film is beautifully photographed and true to the periods it represents.

Brad Pitt is fantastic, and those CGI and makeup techniques for him and the rest of the cast are marvelous. It's a tribute to the film that it's very organic to the cast so we are not aware of makeup and CGI. Cate Blanchett is incredible; she is a dying, old woman in the beginning and gives a tremendous performance.

We're born helpless and without life memories, and some of us die that way. In a way, I guess, it doesn't matter if you're born old or die old - it's like Benjamin tells Cate Blanchett in the film, you'd still end up where you are now. The life experience, the people you meet, the wisdom you acquire, all happens -- and it happened to Benjamin at a time when he could really value it. But as he points out: "For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it."

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.

Technically, like most of Davin Fincher's movies, "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button" is a wonder. The curious saga of a man ageing backwards, gives Fincher the possibility of doing what he does best, tricks. It is the drama part that he doesn't seem to master or perhaps he doesn't care. "Zodiac" was his most coherent dramatic venture. Here he gets infatuated by the CGI and manages some spectacular punches but it is thanks to Brad Pitt the the exercise has a soul. He is truly remarkable. He manages to overcome the distraction of the gadgetry and show us the interior of the man. Brad Pitt's warmth wins over David Fincher's coldness and the most successful parts of the film are reflected in Brad Pitt's eyes. Geared towards an inexorable ending, there are moments of real beauty and tenderness. I'm convinced those moments could have been captured with a Super 8. The over direction of Fincher puts the emotional undertone in real jeopardy but, thankfully, the overall experience is mostly a welcome and rewarding one.

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

I had been awaiting to see this movie for some time. Alas, it was Christmas Day and you bet I was there to see the movie on opening day. I set my expectations really high on this film. I expected nothing short of brilliance with a film coming from director David Fincher, director of the masterful "Zodiac" and screenwriter Eric Roth, writer of the classic "Forrest Gump". The acting is brilliant in the movie. Brad Pitt and the marvelous Cate Blanchett share a fire that resonates so effortlessly out to the audience. Other performances are notable as well, such as Taraji P. Henson's as Benjamin's mother, and Tilda Swinton's as Benjamin's first lover. Another notable achievement in the film is the visual effects; none of it is overdone and it is quite convincing. The music in the film is great as well. The haunting and mythical music is composed by Alexandre Desplat. One thing that did surprise me in the film was the amount of comedy present, but I guess comedy's needed for a tale with such sorrow. I really do think that this film is a classic. And I would go and see it again. When I was walking out of the theater, some people complained that the movie was very good, but that it was too long. I disagree; I actually didn't want it to end. It's the perfect film to watch all snuggled up in a blanket during the dead of winter. All things aside, this movie is about the short time we're given with life and how we are to make the most of it. Even with a story as fictional as Benjamin Button's, the message rings true.