The Curious Review of Benjamin Button

As I looked through the movie listings, I found myself overwhelmed with all of the new critically acclaimed, “amazing movies.” After about 10 minutes of searching through the listings, I choose to watch The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I was curious to see how curious his case really was. So, my father and I drove to Bay Street in Emeryville, and bought two overpriced tickets at the AMC Theater. Fortunately, we arrived early, because by the start of the previews, every seat was filled.
Based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald (who is most notably known for writing such works as The Great Gatsby), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a story about a man, played by Brad Pitt, who is born old and grows younger over time. Abandoned by his biological father, Benjamin is raised by a caretaker at a senior home. At first, people are startled by his rare condition, but gradually, they begin to accept him and admire his appreciation for life. Each experience Benjamin has throughout his life alters the way he views life and the value of it. In the end, Benjamin Button learns a copious amount of different morals, values, and life lessons.
The movie is directed by David Fincher, who also directed movies such as Fight Club, Zodiac, and Panic Room. The Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, Directors Guild of America, Golden Globes, and The National Board of Review have all nominated David Fincher as best director of the year.
After watching the film, I felt quite indifferent and unsure how to process it all. Overall, it was a good movie, but not great. I thought the story was very imaginative and unconventional; it was definitely unusual, but in a positive way. Three characters narrate the story: a daughter reading to her sick mother, her mother, and Benjamin. Thus, the story was not entirely focused on the story of his life, but partly on the events happening with the daughter and her mother. Although both stories are closely related, the frequent transitions were quite annoying and at times very frustrating.
Despite its atypical story, the film was quite too long. Its 166 minutes were not always pleasant to watch, and many scenes were boring and lacked relevance to the rest of the movie. Many critics claimed its length only accentuated Benjamin’s wonderful journey, but honestly, its length did nothing more than show more clips of Brad Pitt topless, which wasn’t terribly painful to view, but wasn’t relevant.
The score, composed by Alexandre Desplat, was brilliant, it truly captured the timeless element of the movie. I found myself crying at the end of the movie solely because of the music. All of the songs were created for the movie, which allowed the viewer to truly feel they were living his life with him. Every song portrayed a certain emotion of love, despair, hope, and imagination.
Transforming Brad Pitt into an old man appeared to be quite a challenge. Throughout the movie Benjamin’s age is elaborated through lush and technical make-up. Obviously, a lot of time and effort went into making an old man out of 45-year-old Brad Pitt. I thought the make-up was fantastic, and was extremely realistic. Although I must say, even at 70 years old, Brad Pitt still looked incredibly gorgeous. Daisy Williams, played by Cate Blanchet, aged very realistically. The make-up even preformed well as Benjamin was getting younger, which seems to be a harder task than to make someone look older.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button left many appreciative of life’s transient nature. It reiterated the need to fulfill your life with meaningful experiences. The film captured how one minor alteration in someone’s day can change their entire life and how they view it. All life must end, but to Benjamin Button, this was a reason to appreciate it even more and to seize the day. Love, happiness, despair, and loneliness are all fascinating emotions, but they can only be expressed fully if one truly understands what it means to be alive. Overall, I would give this movie an 8 out of 10. Its imagination and themes were quite entertaining and meaningful, but there were a few aspects of the film that did not correspond well with the rest of the story.

3 Responses

1. 11:31 AM on January 30th, 2009gthug:

   I dont know dat much bout movies, but dat Cate blanchett got cake.

2. 1:30 PM on January 30th, 2009Hugs for Thugs:

   LEt’s live in a tent.

3. 10:07 AM on February 5th, 2009MR. MAGINTY:

   GURL, fix dos errurs

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