Note: There's a lot that could be written about this movie. Due to my own feelings towards word counts and overall length in general (and yes, because I'm incredibly lazy [and tired]) this review is a lot shorter than it could have been.
The only curious thing about Benjamin Button is that he ages backwards. Remove that element, and the film rather easily becomes a derivative tale about a man who makes the most of his life. I?ve heard people liken this film to Forrest Gump, but I see it more as a counterpart to Big Fish from five years ago. The same style and atmosphere is in tact, right down to the whole event being a narration. It?s just that instead of Tim Burton?s occasional zany visual splendour, the audience gets choked with symbolism as if there were shreds of The Great Gatsby in my popcorn.
During the First World War, a blind clockmaker built a clock for a train station that ticks in the opposite direction in order to represent the common sentiment parents often feel when they outlive their children. Presumably, a child was conceived at the exact moment the clock was activated. Nine months later, a wrinkled and decrepit child was born to a horrified father who left it for dead on the doorstep of an old folk?s home. Surprising everyone, the child grows younger and healthier as time marches forward.
Button?s life is revealed through his personal diaries that his lifelong love, Daisy, kept after his death. On her own deathbed, Daisy gives her daughter, Caroline, the diaries to read aloud as her last request. The entire film is a collection of pivotal moments in Benjamin?s life (as they occurred and as he recalled them further on down the road) relived.
Structurally, the film contains four acts, which gives it the pace of biography rather than fantasy. The film starts in the jazz age, patiently moves into the Second World War, and has a quick dalliance with The Beatles before tapering off into more modern times. Aside from that, there?s not all that much else that needs to be said. In my view, summarizing the film succinctly serves to devalue it since the whole project has come together so well. A collection of vignettes to be sure, but it?s a harmonious collection with each aspect playing a crucial role.
The supporting cast far outclasses the leads. The best scenes all involve Benjamin responding to the characters he meets on his travels. Jared Harris as tugboat captain Mike and Tilda Swinton as Elizabeth Abbott in particular are exceptional. The central relationship between Pitt and Blanchett does leave a bit to be desired, possibly because of the thick southern accents in their way. In all seriousness though, the entire childhood ?love of my life? romance doesn?t quite click. The account is competently executed, just too synthetic and a bit sterile.
That's about as normal as this relationship gets.
Now F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the short story the screenplay is (incredibly loosely) based off of, but prudent viewers will likely connect this film to another piece of literature by him that has become a standard high school text due to its persistent and overt symbolism. Screenwriter Eric Roth gives more than a few nods to the jazz age classic The Great Gatsby by playing with the ideas of time and chaos theory in a way that might pique the common stagnant brain. A life changing car accident that was triggered and perhaps might have been averted by simple actions is even narrated just so the point wouldn?t be lost. More than a few passing references and axioms about time and life are sprinkled evenly throughout the 160 minute run time, and even the behaviour of Hurricane Katrina as it nears New Orleans during the present day can all by analyzed for symbolism. An essayist could go on, but this is a film review. The simple fact is that there is a fair bit of meaning hiding in the crevices of Roth?s screenplay.
As I mentioned earlier, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is more a fictional biography than a fantasy drama. For this reason, it?s the type of film you have to be in the mood for watching. It?s a bit of a commitment (especially when the ending begins to drag) but there?s enough solid entertainment to satisfy most anyone. The key ingredient is the audience?s willingness to accept the conditions of director David Fincher?s world. A little enthusiasm can go a long way.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The only curious thing about Benjamin Button is that he ages backwards. Remove that element, and the film rather easily becomes a derivative tale about a man who makes the most of his life. I?ve heard people liken this film to Forrest Gump, but I see it more as a counterpart to Big Fish from five years ago. The same style and atmosphere is in tact, right down to the whole event being a narration. It?s just that instead of Tim Burton?s occasional zany visual splendour, the audience gets choked with symbolism as if there were shreds of The Great Gatsby in my popcorn.
During the First World War, a blind clockmaker built a clock for a train station that ticks in the opposite direction in order to represent the common sentiment parents often feel when they outlive their children. Presumably, a child was conceived at the exact moment the clock was activated. Nine months later, a wrinkled and decrepit child was born to a horrified father who left it for dead on the doorstep of an old folk?s home. Surprising everyone, the child grows younger and healthier as time marches forward.
Button?s life is revealed through his personal diaries that his lifelong love, Daisy, kept after his death. On her own deathbed, Daisy gives her daughter, Caroline, the diaries to read aloud as her last request. The entire film is a collection of pivotal moments in Benjamin?s life (as they occurred and as he recalled them further on down the road) relived.
Structurally, the film contains four acts, which gives it the pace of biography rather than fantasy. The film starts in the jazz age, patiently moves into the Second World War, and has a quick dalliance with The Beatles before tapering off into more modern times. Aside from that, there?s not all that much else that needs to be said. In my view, summarizing the film succinctly serves to devalue it since the whole project has come together so well. A collection of vignettes to be sure, but it?s a harmonious collection with each aspect playing a crucial role.
The supporting cast far outclasses the leads. The best scenes all involve Benjamin responding to the characters he meets on his travels. Jared Harris as tugboat captain Mike and Tilda Swinton as Elizabeth Abbott in particular are exceptional. The central relationship between Pitt and Blanchett does leave a bit to be desired, possibly because of the thick southern accents in their way. In all seriousness though, the entire childhood ?love of my life? romance doesn?t quite click. The account is competently executed, just too synthetic and a bit sterile.
That's about as normal as this relationship gets.
Now F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the short story the screenplay is (incredibly loosely) based off of, but prudent viewers will likely connect this film to another piece of literature by him that has become a standard high school text due to its persistent and overt symbolism. Screenwriter Eric Roth gives more than a few nods to the jazz age classic The Great Gatsby by playing with the ideas of time and chaos theory in a way that might pique the common stagnant brain. A life changing car accident that was triggered and perhaps might have been averted by simple actions is even narrated just so the point wouldn?t be lost. More than a few passing references and axioms about time and life are sprinkled evenly throughout the 160 minute run time, and even the behaviour of Hurricane Katrina as it nears New Orleans during the present day can all by analyzed for symbolism. An essayist could go on, but this is a film review. The simple fact is that there is a fair bit of meaning hiding in the crevices of Roth?s screenplay.
As I mentioned earlier, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is more a fictional biography than a fantasy drama. For this reason, it?s the type of film you have to be in the mood for watching. It?s a bit of a commitment (especially when the ending begins to drag) but there?s enough solid entertainment to satisfy most anyone. The key ingredient is the audience?s willingness to accept the conditions of director David Fincher?s world. A little enthusiasm can go a long way.