January 7th, 2009
By Jeff
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a spectacular meditation on time, love, and loss.
Haunting.
Mythic.
Without hesitation the most moving and intricately crafted film of the year two thousand and eight, Benjamin Button is a beautiful tale every person on Earth can easily relate to if they simply allow themselves to confront the painful reality of our impending mortality.
A child (Brad Pitt) is born “under unusual circumstances” — and ages backwards, transforming before the audience’s eyes (with the incredible help of a great make-up team and newly-designed digital effects) from a shrively old baby, to dashing ‘middle-aged’ teenager, to a hot young stud in his late 60s, and eventually to becoming a….well, you’ll see.
He meets an array of fascinating characters (played by a very talented cast) during his unique journey, but struggles his whole life to fit in and to connect with his first true love, the fire-haired Daisy (Cate Blanchet), who is aging opposite to him. Pitt and Blanchet, who provided the primary spark to 2006’s Babel , once again match each other’s efforts in this film in terms of pure dedication to the craft of acting – they’re perfect.
Benjamin Button essentially plays off a scenario (based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald) that is ripe to many easy metaphors and meanings, none of which director David Fincher (Zodiac , Fight Club, Seven ) doesn’t cultivate in his own special way and expand to their fullest possible potential. There’s hasn’t been a film dealing with these universal themes about life and death quite this simultaneously touching, melancholy, and intense in a very long time.
Fincher, who with each film under his belt grows closer and closer to overthrowing the throne of Stanley Kubrick, has made the most mature and personal film of his career. More meticulous than ever before, he’s crafted a slow-burning exploration of life and death that, despite it’s odd premise of a man who ages in reverse, hits extremely close to home. I’d imagine it must be especially relevant for the older portion of the audience (who’ve inevitably had many experiences with the pain of losing loved ones).
Brad Pitt, who has now made the character of ‘Benjamin Button’ the one he will be remembered most by (with Fight Club ’s ‘Tyler Durden’ falling second), is ideally chosen for the signature role. The guy never speaks more than a short sentence at a time, and yet carries an incredible gravitas. You understand and know him more than you could if he narrated the entire duration of the film.
It’s almost like you can read his mind, comprehend his longing, joy, and hurt, because we’ve all been there before. At points, his eyes become your eyes, and you are just seeing a reflection of your own life peering back and reminding you of the choices you’ve made (or haven’t made) in your own life. The film brings forth so many questions not often thought but well worth pondering over and at least attempting to answer.
From the early behind-the-scenes buzz which I remember hearing about all the way back in 2006, to the magnificently-edited trailers released only a short while ago, as well as the incredible talent that was able to align together (David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, screenwriter Eric Roth), I knew going into The Curious Case of Benjamin Button that it was going to be a cinematic experience not soon forgotten.
But rarely do I have my every expectation surpassed, as I did with this ‘curious case’.
It’s a film I look forward to growing old with.
Leave a Reply