Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Directed by: David Fincher

Starring: Brad Pitt

Genre: Drama/Romance/ Fantasy

Run Time: 166 min.

Release Date: December 2008

On The Web: Official Site

Teaser: Movie Trailer

Reviewed by Byron Merritt

The curious thing about THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is that no one seems to think Benjamin’s case is that ...well ...curious. But I’m jumping ahead of myself.

This film is really all Brad Pitt (BURN AFTER READING). He so controls the entirety of it that you simply could not picture anyone else doing that role but him. Pitt is, after all, a fine actor. Probably one of our finest out there at present. Things like BABEL, OCEAN’S THIRTEEN and FIGHT CLUB have helped elevate his cinematic chops. But never before has so much attention and time been given over to a character that is purely Pitt’s. He is on-screen for most of the film’s substantial 166 minutes. And he is fantastic to watch.

The curiousness of it is that Benjamin Button (Pitt) is born old. Really old. Arthritic, full of heart disease and wrinkles, Benjamin’s early life is wrought with problems. His mother (Joeanna Sayler) dies giving birth to him and his father (Jason Flemyng) is so distraught and disgusted by Benjamin’s appearance that he leaves him on a vacant porch-step. He is taken into a house of elderly people where they are cared for in their waning years. And as Benjamin’s time passes, his body mutates into a younger and younger man. He finds himself in adventures on the high-seas, and travels the world. But one thing he never seems to forget is his early love of Daisy (Cate Blanchett, I’M NOT THERE). Their on-and-off relationship is the only thing that keeps Benjamin semi-grounded in reality. His life is odd, but not so much for him. Although aging is a natural process, Benjamin just happens to be doing it backward. The big question for everyone is "What happens when Benjamin’s time runs out?" Will he vanish into a zygote?

It is most disturbing (to me as viewer) that no one in the medical community decided to study Benjamin. They just completely accepted the fact that he was aging in reverse and that was that. No news media hype that Benjamin needed to run away from. No pokes and prods by the medical establishment. Nothing. I understand that time was of the essence when telling this story, and that it needed to be more human interest than anything, but I would’ve liked to have seen SOMETHING or someone curious enough to think this oddity worth studying.

Regardless, this film is quite good thanks to Brad Pitt’s amazing performance and the incredible make-up effects (Greg Cannom won the Oscar for Best Make-Up and rightfully so). It is also great eye-candy to see the period sets and costumes through the ages as Pitt and the rest of the cast age into the more modern world.

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Image from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) as a young man who looks old