Mind you, this movie has THIRTEEN Academy Award Nominations and I have seen many rave reviews and ratings for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". Click at this link here to enter the official movie site and be enthralled by the moving original score and fascinating story line. For a slide show of 104 unforgettable scenes from the movie, please click this link here.
My advice is for you to read the original short story written by another of my favorite authors, F. Scott Fitzgerald which is available online at this link. Believe me, it is a highly entertaining tale...and one that will surely bring many smiles to your face.
According to Wikipedia:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a 2008 American drama film, inspired by the 1921 short story of the same name written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The film was directed by David Fincher, written by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord, and stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. The film was released on December 25, 2008, by both Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures. The film received 13 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director for Fincher, Best Actor for Pitt[3] and Best Supporting Actress for Taraji P. Henson.
I was quite surprised that after Fincher's previous violent movies such as Fight Club, Zodiac and Se7en, the violence, desolation, obsession, rage and anarchic seething humor that so artfully disfigures his previous work are now forgotten because in this movie, Fincher radiates warmth, romance, (fleeting) fulfilment, sentiment and magical realism. To be honest, as a die-hard romantic and sentimental old lady, I regard this movie as a gorgeous-looking fable spun from F Scott Fitzgerald’s 1921 short story. Of course, Button flirts with whimsy, skirts schmaltz, at times teetering on the edge of a misty(-eyed) abyss but pulled back by Fincher’s cerebral disposition and meticulous technique.
I am quite sure this movie will win many Oscars as it is an epic of rare scope and scale in a 167-minute opus that spans 90-odd years in its foregrounding of one man’s peculiar growth against that of a nation in that time frame. Well, we will know soon....
Critics are divided in their opinions of this movie which is a time traveller's tale. My guess is that some of you may see it as an inventive piece of film-making offering much insight into the nature of death and ageing, yet others wonder may whether The Curious Case of Benjamin Button says anything particular about anything much at all. I wonder if this unusual combination of cutting edge techniques and old-fashioned, century-spanning storytelling may be seen in years to come as one of 2009's most notable movies? Or is any pretence at greatness undermined by its strange premise and contrived air of antiquity?
Of course, I must admit that I have a soft spot for that particular era (1920's - jazz age, roaring 1920's and the wonderful fashion, hairstyles, Charleston dances etc. which is why I love Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and almost ALL his books). It reminds me a bit of Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and Gaspar Noe's Irreversible (which stars my favorite Monica Belluci) in that the movie is in reverse order.
(Spoiler in the next paragraph so be forewarned) My personal response comes after the synopsis.
Synopsis
Benjamin Button is the tale of a man who lives his life backwards. Born at the tale end of the great war in New Orleans, young Benjamin starts out life as a baby stricken with all the ailments of an 80-year-old man. He is not expected to live longer than a few months, but slowly begins to realise that he is growing younger every day, a condition which eventually allows him to start to enjoy some of the advantages of adult existence. He learns to drink, starts work on a boat, and tentatively begins liaisons with the opposite sex. His life starts to approach some semblance of normality, and yet the great love of his life, Daisy, who he first met when she was a young girl and he a wrinkly five-year-old, is ageing in the opposite direction.
My Personal Response
Don't ask me if I wept during this movie; the answer is pretty obvious. This movie makes me think of life, death and a love that burns bright and yet as brief as a firefly… In many ways, this is a film obsessed with transience, with mortality. I must admit that even though it is flecked with flaws, Button nonetheless stands as a monument to its maker’s talent. And why so?
Well, I could identify with the many scenes of the movie...As Benjamin’s life unwinds, we can all witness a lot of firsts. His first kiss, first love and his first time drinking, whereupon his momma catches him and watches, hands on hips, as the 70-year-old Pitt projectile vomits over the stairs. Almost every scene reminds me of Daisy (played in adulthood by Cate Blanchett). Throughout the tales of Benjamin’s life, it was like a roller coaster ride - while on one hand I was sucked out of the reverie of the scene, on the other hand, I was also plonked back to the present day – a bleak hospital room where Daisy lies on her deathbed as her daughter reads from Benjamin’s diary.
To be honest, I found Blanchett’s barely decipherable croaking really irritating and I could not reconcile that scene with the image that I would rather carry of her - the utterly enchanting, radiating a strength, candour and severe beauty that only befit Blanchett.
When watching this movie, more than ever, I am reminded that everything that happens is sewn into life’s tapestry. I can choose to frown at the knots in life, the snipped threads and the tangles (those of you who do cross stitching like I used to can understand what I mean) or turn it over and gaze at the beautiful pattern they’ve helped to create. Actually, I find it quite impossible to pin down, categorise or even judge The Curious Case of Benjamin Button because this special movie has shown me that whether or not I live life forwards or backwards, the outside is just a shell and it’s what I choose to do with life that matters - and it should be to sift out the best parts from the worst. Indeed, it is particularly real to me in the light of my recent experiences.
I could go on and on but it would only revolve around the same message :
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is an absolute masterpiece and is probably one of the greatest films of all time.
Believe me, I am not the only one who says that. Go to the official website and you can see the rave review for yourself. So dear reader, please watch this movie with your loved ones. This movie can be a trifle slow at times but somehow, miraculously, this delicate, beautiful, involving and fantastical story is utterly enchanting and will warm the smallest, deepest cockles of your heart.
Like what I said earlier in this post, it may NOT be to everyone’s taste but it’s a film that you should make every effort to see because it is an enjoyable, engaging and beautifully made drama with stunning special effects and terrific performances from Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.This film is not only Brad Pitt’s finest performance ever, it is director David Fincher’s finest work and he is a man with a very impressive CV of first class movies.
LIFE IS NOT MEASURED BY MINUTES BUT BY MOMENTS....
ocho-onda An interesting write up. Paula.
I have to sheepishly admit that I had a toss up,last week, for either "Benjamin Button" or "The Wrestler" and I opted to watch the later instead, as the former looks like a "chick flick" to me !
I may watch it now after reading your take , to get reacquainted with my feminine side! It will be a challenge to see if I can still cry ! :-)
But not before watching Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristana Barcelona. " Penelope Cruz . Wow ! Ella es un bonbon y muy caliente tambien !!! (She is a babe and very hot as well) :-)