The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button Review

Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 12.25.2008

A movie that reflects all those wonderful, sometimes tragic, and sometimes beautiful things about life.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON



Directed By: David Fincher
Written By: Eric Roth; Story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord; Based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Runtime: 168 minutes
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for brief war violence, sexual content, language and smoking.
Official Website: http://www.benjaminbutton.com/

Benjamin Button - Brad Pitt
Daisy - Cate Blanchett
Caroline - Julia Ormond
Queenie - Taraji Henson
Tizzy Weathers - Mahershalalhashbaz Ali
Thomas Button - Jason Flemyng
Captain Mike - Jared Harris
Elizabeth Abbott - Tilda Swinton
Monsieur Gateau - Elias Koteas

The setting for the screening of the movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, at the Paramount Theatre could not have been more hauntingly appropriate. The clouds were raging, and the rain was coming down hard -- a rare occurrence here in Los Angeles. The weather outside one of Hollywood's oldest studio lots seemed to reference the movie and history, recalling the haunting imagery of Hurricane Katrina which serves as the backdrop and narrative framing device for the mega-budgeted prestige picture from Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros.

The journey of the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, written in the 1920's, toward adaptation into a theatrical feature is an interesting one. The basic gist, a man who is born old and ages backwards, sounds like a high concept Hollywood flick waiting to happen. But it would take many years for everything to come into place. Director David Fincher, following his excellent crime drama in Zodiac, took the heavy task upon himself to bring the story of Benjamin Button to the screen after screenwriters Eric Roth and Robin Swicord toiled on it for years.

The story begins with Caroline (Ormond) tending to her dying mother, Daisy (Blanchett), in a hospital in New Orleans, LA. While the word "Katrina" is never specifically stated, the idea is well understood as the story puts the action right into New Orleans hours before the destructive flood. Daisy, in what are likely her last moments, asks Caroline to read to her from a book. The book is actually a diary containing the last will and testament and story of Benjamin Button (Pitt).

The narration transitions to the voice of Pitt as Benjamin, and we learn the tale of his birth at the end of The Great War in 1918. Benjamin's birth mother, Caroline, tragically passes from the delivery. Benjamin's father, the button maker Thomas (Flemyng), is horrified by the sight of his newborn infant son. Tense and with emotion, Thomas flees with the baby. In a fit of mercy from the last dying wish of Thomas' wife, Benjamin is left on the doorstep of an old folks' home. There, Benjamin is discovered by the home's caretaker, Queenie (Henson), and the home's chef who is Queenie's lover, Tizzy (Ali). Benjamin is no ordinary infant. While his size is equal to that of an average baby, his body shows all the signs and physical attributes of a man well into his '80's. Queenie, apparently unable to bear a child, decides to take Benjamin under her care to raise as her own. Benjamin actually fits right in with the company of the older folks, many of whom don't have much time left either.

Gradually, Benjamin grows into the full body of an old man. However, his hair starts growing out, and he gets stronger and more virile. He also meets Daisy and falls in love with her at first sight. Daisy looks her age, and Benjamin does not, and that causes some problems.

What one can take more than anything from this story as adapted by Fincher and Roth -- and this could be totally wrong -- is that despite the "unusual circumstances" of Benjamin's birth and his aging, Benjamin’s life is not so much different from our own. Even with the appearance of being elderly, Benjamin begins a naive love affair with an older woman, Elizabeth Abbott (Swinton) during his days as a sailor from his late teens to his early 20's. Benjamin is educated about life by adults -- much as we are. Perhaps, one should not say that Benjamin's life is not extraordinary, because extraordinary things can happen in our lives even if though it might not seem that way to others. Benjamin experiences love and loss much the same way that people do every day. Aging backwards or not, Benjamin faces the same decisions, choices, and travels many of the same paths in life that everyone in life ultimately faces. Fincher and Roth have essentially, in much the opposite manner of Fitzgerald's story which embraced the absurdity of the scenario, captured the reality of such a situation . . . if that is at all possible. People are born, we age, we laugh, we cry, and we die. Benjamin Button is no different, and while his body physically goes in reverse, he ages mentally the same as us.

While Fincher generally goes more for the realism of the situations, the movie does have a few flights of fancy. First is the interesting prologue story about Mr. Gateau (formerly Casey Jones, Koteas), a blind clockmaker who makes a clock that goes backwards in the anguish of the loss of his son in The Great War. There is also a repeating interlude with a man who recalls the times he has been struck by lightning on seven occasions, each time depicted with a vintage old-time film clip showing the man in his youth being struck by lightning in random situations. The imagery in some of these sequences appears almost abstract, but Fincher still manages to blend them well into his narrative.

The performances are all fun to watch. Pitt, as Benjamin, is at his most gentlemanly and likable self of his career. He embraces everything that is important about the character and never succumbs to mugging as Tom Cruise still does. This is noted because at one point this was a role that Tom Cruise highly coveted. Cate Blanchett is fantastic as Daisy and captures the character amazingly throughout the decades. Jared Harris delightfully chews up the screen as the crusty Captain Mike, Benjamin's tugboat Captain who mentors Benjamin into the ways of sex with the ladies and early manhood.

The technical wizardry of the aging of not only characters such as Benjamin but also Daisy and Queenie, is 100% perfect and looks absolutely seamless. There is really no way you can tell they are plastering Pitt's face on a body double or that Pitt is wearing make-up at all -- even as Benjamin grows into the body of a young man in his 20's and then late teens.

The production design and ambition of depicting New Orleans throughout most of the 21st century is spectacular. This is another departure from the story since Fitzgerald's work was set in Baltimore. There are many other impressive set pieces and locations that Benjamin visits such as Russia in the '40's, and Paris and New York in the '50's, while New Orleans remains the home he always returns to.

The movie does feel long at a robust, nearly 3 hour runtime. But there's very little in the movie you would imagine or want to be removed. Movies shouldn't always be a quick, disposable experience.

The 411: Fincher has really made something special here. While it is somewhat early to call this a classic or one of the best movies ever, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button is most definitely a fine, well-made picture. A movie that's just as much of a reflection of life experiences of happiness, sadness, pain, loss, and joy -- that bitter sweetness that makes life so special.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]