Curious about Benjamin Button?
Regardless of whether or not it’s one of the year’s best films, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is certainly the most paradoxical as it presents enough small ironies to fill a gumball machine.
Beyond the obvious backwards aging concept that encompasses the film’s plot, director David Fincher takes F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story and reshapes it into a dark three hour epic that may seem a little dragged in its latter act, but still maintains an ideal structure that makes it simply enjoyable for those who have the patience to appreciate it.
In a line of thrilling masterpieces, Fincher has only once tried fiddling with viewers’ emotions, and it was at the climax of “Se7en” when Brad Pitt found Gwyneth Paltrow’s head inside a box. Whether by vivid brutality in “Fight Club,” or solving mysteries in “Zodiac” (a film, which I thought was highly under-appreciated) it’s always a matter of craft for him as a director, and unlike many others, he can actually make so much out of his production design, that it’s okay if viewers just enjoy the show for what it is.
Aside from the “outsider who values life most” mentality of the central character, there really aren’t too many “touching” moments in this film. But it is still plenty enjoyable to see the solid blue eyes of Brad Pitt hiding underneath a wrinkled face that was born just weeks earlier; not to mention the way he humorously connects with a bunch of old-timers who envy him for actually getting younger every single day. “Did I ever tell you I was struck by lightning seven times?”
Covering an entire lifespan stemming from 1918 all the way to the break of the 21st century, Fincher’s latest drama follows a young/old man named Benjamin (Brad Pitt) who is born with all the physical and emotional qualities of an 80 year-old. After being abandoned by his father, Benjamin gets taken in at a nursing home where he meets a young ballerina named Daisy (Cate Blanchett) who becomes his love interest.
Together, the two of them must help each other find a place in the world as they age from opposite sides of the living spectrum; an unfortunate catalyst that will ultimately bring numerous ups and downs to their relationship.
I didn’t even realize it until I entered, but this film actually reunites Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, who recently worked together in the foreign drama “Babel.” While that film wasn’t so much focused on its characters as opposed to its primal theme, I was still able to notice a certain chemistry that helped their segments stand out among the rest of the non-English speaking side plots.
Even if the connection isn’t as juiced with as much feeling as it could be, it’s more so the nature of the individual characters they play in this movie that keep us following the relationship as it goes on-and-off throughout the decades, especially at the end of World War II when Benjamin returns to New York to see Daisy living her dream as a ballerina.
Sparks fly, not just over the other man who’s in her life now, but also the fact that this is the only point in time where the two of them will share the same age and look similar enough to follow what has been in their hearts from the very beginning.
Blanchett could be a possible contender for “Supporting Actress” as she gives the film what little internal sentiment it requires, but the real golden star of this show belongs to Brad Pitt as he pushes his character through a wheelchair-bound childhood all the way to a handsome newborn’s deathbed.
It’s one thing to applaud the solid make-up work that keeps Pitt in the driver seat the whole time, but it’s how he accentuates the personality of Benjamin that shows his true devotion to the role. Oddly enough, however, therein lies another one of the film’s biggest ironies.
He knows he’s different, and even if he can’t explain it, he still accepts it without a lick of shame… so just why exactly are we supposed to be curious about him if no one else is? Maybe “acceptance” is supposed to be the point, but without that curious connection, it’s hard to get fully attached to Benjamin’s character and the film doesn’t really feel like a journey of personal struggle; it’s just a close examination into the life of one particular outsider.
I don’t know about you, but if I knew someone who was aging backwards, I’d probably try to promote them as a contender for “8th Wonder of the World.”
There are very few production teams in Hollywood who can plot their stories on longer scales and keep the momentum running fresh, but luckily for its novelty fanbase, Benjamin Button gets a fairly decent arrangement, especially from screenwriter Eric Roth (Forrest Gump).
I just hope that all the dire readers out there who hold Fitzgerald’s work in their hearts don’t walk away from this film agitated by the numerous differences. Seeing as how it took me this long to even bring it up, I think it’s perfectly safe to say that aside from the backwards aging and the name of the protagonist, reading the book and seeing the film are really two completely separate experiences.
The question is… which one is more curious about Benjamin Button? I read, I saw… I was satisfied, but not enough to believe in 13 Oscar nominations.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Feb 6 2009. Filed under Reviews.
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