David Fincher, US, 2008, 166 mins
Cast: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Julia Ormond, Jason Flemyng, Taraji P. Henson
Review by Matthew Rodgers
“I was born under unusual circumstances.”
David Fincher has become a director synonymous with cultural zeitgeist and visually progressive filmmaking techniques, but there is a simpler theme (amongst countless others) that permeates all of his work, from the claustrophobic calamity of Alien3 to the masculine deconstruction of Fight Club . And that theme is mortality. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button paints on the broadest of canvases, and is unquestionably Fincher's most accessible film, creating a whimsically, wonderful epic of a simple man in extraordinary circumstances .
Told using that often annoying (although in this instance not) device of the wrap-around story, our tale begins in a sterile hospital room as Hurricane Katrina begins its devastating destruction of New Orleans. A daughter is at her dying mother's bedside, so to ease the pain and fill an unspoken void from years of alienation, she begins to read from the diary of one Benjamin Button, a man born with the ailments of a geriatric, who then grew younger to live a fantastically astonishing life.
The film's many praise worthy achievements might well tempt the cynic to accuse it of an awards seeking tick box approach. But why damn a movie for trying to be good?
The film's top attraction is probably the time-bending photo-realistic special effects work, as impressive as Gollum and as revolutionary as the T-1000. Here, however, they do not serve the same purpose as those other show-stopping CG creations. The triumph behind the way in which Pitt is morphed from an elderly seven-year-old to the Seven Years in Tibet poster boy is that after the initial amazement you completely forget about the computer jiggery-pokery and become totally immersed in the story.
Inspired by the F. Scott Fitzgerald 1921 short story of the same name, this is a simple tale of self-discovery that is satisfying in every respect. Inspirational as a “live life to the fullest” parable and gracefully woven over three never noticeable hours, it is the story of one man's relentless attempt to treasure the moments that life presents him with. Pitt's Button knows when to seize an opportunity, as when he unflinchingly goes to war despite the physical limitations of a fifty-year-old man, and when to pass one by, as he declines the advances of his childhood sweetheart. It is a fantastical piece of Hollywood storytelling.
Fincher's approach, while gentle and humane, is still admittedly dark because we are dealing here with a character who is subject to the cruelty of watching those around him grow old while he passes them by — including the woman he loves (Blanchett). Fincher is no longer just the MTV director made good. He can now count himself up there with the greats; Spielberg, Jackson et al. Button proves his versatility in being able to craft on such a grand scale yet still maintain the intimacy the story requires. And for any cries of “sell-out” to a director renowned for his edginess, scratch below the surface of this tale and you will find it as heartbreakingly unkind as any of his back-catalogue. So there!
The hyperbole surrounding the effects and the awards shouldn't detract from some outstanding performances too. Pitt is much more than just a digital template. His mannerisms as a wheelchair bound infant are astonishing, and his coy reaction to finding himself in a brothel at such a young age is totally charming. His brief encounter with a married woman (Tilda Swinton — also excellent) and his relationship with the father who left him on a doorstep (ditto for Flemying) are also high points in a delicately understated, yet entirely unforgettable performance. Blanchett as his romantic foil flits in and out of the narrative with little effect until the final third, during which she brilliantly steps up to carry the emotional weight of the touching ending.
Possibly an overtly gushing review? Agreed. This won't be to everyone's taste, that's for sure, but cinema is designed to stimulate, amaze, and provide escapism on different levels. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button does that and a little bit more.
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