Brad Pitt lives life backwards in David Fincher’s THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON.Pitt is Benjamin Button an infant born with the attributes of an 80-year old man. His mother dies upon his birth, and his father, mortified of raising a deformed child leaves him at the footsteps of a nursing home. Dorothy one of the workers at the facility takes Benjamin in and raises him.
With the physical attributes of a senior citizen, Benjamin fits right in at the nursing home. As time passes though, Benjamin begins to heal physically and mature both mentally and emotionally, and even begins a friendship with Daisy, a young girl who visits the home regularly. In spite of his attachment to Dorothy, Daisy and the nursing home, there comes a time when everyone must go out on their own, and Benjamin does so by becoming a seafarer and hitting the open seas.
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is an aptly titled pictured, even if the title is strictly taken from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s popular slice of fiction. Despite the film’s lengthy run time, Fincher and screenwriter Eric Roth struggle to capture the growth, uniqueness and wholeness of Benjamin Button.
With an eclectic group of friends, acquaintances and family members, both blood and otherwise, encompassing a story that spans one individual‘s entire life, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON attempts to illustrate how each individual that interacts with one’s life, impacts one’s life. This idea is clearly, succinctly and cleverly illustrated about mid-way through the film, connecting a group of seemingly irrelevant individuals into one of the film’s more dire moments. This short two minute scene exemplifies what THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is about, so much so, that one wonders why Fincher and Roth couldn’t have done more with the remaining two and half hours.
Although the film isn’t as substantial as it could be, it never ceases to be an engaging experience, thanks to Fincher’s unique style, Pitt and Cate Blanchett’s performances and the skillful make-up and hair styling work from 34 talented individuals. Fincher’s fanciful and dark approach provides the film with an original backdrop, Pitt and Blanchett create endearing, if not fully realized characters, but the star of the film is the make-up, transforming Benjamin and Daisy in opposite directions.
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is an intriguing concept that is never fully realized, despite the technical, directing and acting skills displayed within the film’s framework.
With an eclectic group of friends, acquaintances and family members, both blood and otherwise, encompassing a story that spans one individual‘s entire life, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON attempts to illustrate how each individual that interacts with one’s life, impacts one’s life. This idea is clearly, succinctly and cleverly illustrated about mid-way through the film, connecting a group of seemingly irrelevant individuals into one of the film’s more dire moments. This short two minute scene exemplifies what THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is about, so much so, that one wonders why Fincher and Roth couldn’t have done more with the remaining two and half hours.
Although the film isn’t as substantial as it could be, it never ceases to be an engaging experience, thanks to Fincher’s unique style, Pitt and Cate Blanchett’s performances and the skillful make-up and hair styling work from 34 talented individuals. Fincher’s fanciful and dark approach provides the film with an original backdrop, Pitt and Blanchett create endearing, if not fully realized characters, but the star of the film is the make-up, transforming Benjamin and Daisy in opposite directions.
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is an intriguing concept that is never fully realized, despite the technical, directing and acting skills displayed within the film’s framework.
Grade: C+
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