The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
I’ll be honest. I felt this film was slighted last year. I was actually a little upset that it did not win Best Picture (no offense to Slumdog lovers out there). For me, this film was pure magic, which is why I chose to recognize it as Best Fantasy Film of the Decade.
I think most everyone knows the story, which is based on an F. Scott Fitgerald short story. Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) is a man who ages is reverse. At birth he’s an old man and at his deathbed, well he’s a newborn baby. Reverse aging is not a topic I’ve seen addressed in literature or film very often, which is why I think it is such a fascinating, beautiful story.
It’s hard to believe that this film is directed by the same man (David Fincher) who directed Pitt in Fight Club. The two films are extremely different. However, both of these films do remind me of Fincher’s oft ignored Zodiac. Anyway, the direction is superb. The special effects are so subtle they don’t seem special, they seem rather realistic. The entire look of the film was magical, thanks in part to Fincher’s use of the Viper Thomson digital camera (just as he did in Zodiac).
If the film reminds you of Forrest Gump, there’s good reason. Both screenplays were written by Eric Roth. I’ll make no excuses for saying I believe this film is superior to Gump. While Gump is good, I never considered it great. Part of this may be due to the fact it was the Oscar darling, and I resent that it was (due to the fact it beat out Pulp Fiction). I don’t think I’ve ever forgiven Gump, or the Academy, for such injustice.
Pitt has never been better in my opinion (except maybe in Twelve Monkeys). Watching this film, you actually forget he is Brad Pitt, which, according to most women, is a difficult task. I was leery of Blanchett playing his love interest, Daisy, but I shouldn’t have been. The two have great chemistry.
While most reviews would make more mention of the special effects or the film-making process, I want to end on another note. I felt that New Orleans was an important character in this film. This was just the second movie filmed in New Orleans after Katrina, and I feel that the city was a vital character. While I have no documentation to support this, I think this may have been important to Pitt as a resident of New Orleans as well.
I’d like to end this entry by stating one of the film’s taglines: “Life isn’t measured in minutes, but in moments.” I hope I make the most of my moments, just as Benjamin Button did.
I’ll be honest. I felt this film was slighted last year. I was actually a little upset that it did not win Best Picture (no offense to Slumdog lovers out there). For me, this film was pure magic, which is why I chose to recognize it as Best Fantasy Film of the Decade.
I think most everyone knows the story, which is based on an F. Scott Fitgerald short story. Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) is a man who ages is reverse. At birth he’s an old man and at his deathbed, well he’s a newborn baby. Reverse aging is not a topic I’ve seen addressed in literature or film very often, which is why I think it is such a fascinating, beautiful story.
It’s hard to believe that this film is directed by the same man (David Fincher) who directed Pitt in Fight Club. The two films are extremely different. However, both of these films do remind me of Fincher’s oft ignored Zodiac. Anyway, the direction is superb. The special effects are so subtle they don’t seem special, they seem rather realistic. The entire look of the film was magical, thanks in part to Fincher’s use of the Viper Thomson digital camera (just as he did in Zodiac).
If the film reminds you of Forrest Gump, there’s good reason. Both screenplays were written by Eric Roth. I’ll make no excuses for saying I believe this film is superior to Gump. While Gump is good, I never considered it great. Part of this may be due to the fact it was the Oscar darling, and I resent that it was (due to the fact it beat out Pulp Fiction). I don’t think I’ve ever forgiven Gump, or the Academy, for such injustice.
Pitt has never been better in my opinion (except maybe in Twelve Monkeys). Watching this film, you actually forget he is Brad Pitt, which, according to most women, is a difficult task. I was leery of Blanchett playing his love interest, Daisy, but I shouldn’t have been. The two have great chemistry.
While most reviews would make more mention of the special effects or the film-making process, I want to end on another note. I felt that New Orleans was an important character in this film. This was just the second movie filmed in New Orleans after Katrina, and I feel that the city was a vital character. While I have no documentation to support this, I think this may have been important to Pitt as a resident of New Orleans as well.
I’d like to end this entry by stating one of the film’s taglines: “Life isn’t measured in minutes, but in moments.” I hope I make the most of my moments, just as Benjamin Button did.
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