a formal review
(2008) With thirteen Oscar nominations, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” has garnered a lot of attention. However, the number of nominations takes a back seat to its particularly unique storyline. Warner Brothers and Paramount teamed up to bring us this distinctive movie starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Pitt, who is famous for the “Ocean’s Eleven” series, “Se7en”, and “Legends of the Fall”, is no stranger to the limelight. Blanchett has paired up with Pitt before in “Babel” and has been Oscar nominated for “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”, “Notes on a Scandal”, and “The Aviator” in the past 5 years. ‘Button’ was inspired by a short story of the same name written in 1921 by F. Scott Fitzgerald. There is treasure to be found in everyone’s story and this is 3 hours about Benjamin’s life.
The story of Benjamin’s life is portrayed through the eyes of Daisy (Blanchett), his main love interest throughout the movie. Daisy tells of Benjamin’s unique birth, family life, adventures aboard, and about his loves and fears. His challenges are not especially different from most people except that he physically ages backwards. However, what makes this story special is witnessing his zeal for life and seeing if the love of Benjamin and Daisy is enough to conquer the rare challenges of his existence.
Director David Flincher and writers – Eric Roth and Robin Swicord were finally able to pin down this movie that has been talked about for over 10 years. Some of the most appealing facets of this movie are owed to the supporting cast including Taraji P. Henson, Julia Ormond, and Tilda Swinton. These actors richly weave their talent through the narrative of ‘Benjamin Button’ making it a well-developed tale. Amazing cinematography in this almost 3-hour PG-13 rated movie definitely held the audience’s attention during its transitory moments. ‘Button’ was a beautifully shot film that had more depth than most give it credit for. It was subtle in its approach and there are touching moments that can resonate with more than just a few of us. In particular, a scene where Benjamin describes a series of events involving Daisy is just brilliantly orchestrated and highlights this film’s nomination. Although none of us are likely to age backwards, we may have all wanted to turn back the hands of time once or twice.
My recommendation: Good movie. It can wait for a DVD watch on a larger screen if you’re not an Academy Award fanatic.
Courtesy of Casey Elle’s BOGGS Scale
Bad-Okay-Good-Great-Stellar
image: Copyright by Paramount Pictures and other respective production studios and distributors.
Recent Comments