The Curious Case of Benjamin Button reunites Brad Pitt and Director David Fincher for the 1st time since 'Fight Club.' It tells the story of a man who ages in reverse. He is born eighty years old and slowly gets younger as he gets older. Why? The movie gives no real explanation. It just happens. Cate Blanchett plays Ben's childhood sweetheart, Daisy. Eric Roth (Forrest Gump) adapted the screenplay from a Fitzgerald short story.
The overall effect of this movie is a triumph of style over substance. Benjamin Button, as a person leads no extraordinary life (besides the whole aging in reverse thing) and isn't an incredibly interesting person. The strength in this movie lies in the gorgeous cinematography of Claudio Miranda, a haunting score by Alexandre Desplat, and the beauty and charms of the two leads Pitt and Blanchett.
Much of the joy in this movie is simply looking at the screen. Brad Pitt is a special actor. He has the unique ability to appear flat out gorgeous. At one point in the movie, Cate Blanchett sees him and says matter-of-factly "you're perfect." This line garnered laughs from the audience because it was the 1st time in the movie that Pitt wasn't wearing his digital makeup. In other words he looked like himself. and who else but Brad Pitt could make that line seem an appropriate thing to say. I will venture that the major draw to see this movie is the prospect of seeing a 25 year old Brad Pitt again. Unfortunately the technology needed for eternal youth on the silver screen is not completely there yet. The effects in this movie are ten times better than Beowulf, but the digital rendering still didn't fool me. Young Pitt didn't look completely natural. It was especially distracting when he talked. This is probably the reason why Young Pitt is kept in the shadows for most of the time and very sparingly used in closeups. He doesn't even take off his shirt. What a shame.
Any digital effect used on Cate Blanchett on the other hand went completely unnoticed. And this is maybe a huge compliment because her character, when young, is a dancer, and I have trouble believing that a middle aged woman like Cate can move like that. I was looking everywhere for a stunt double but couldn't see her. So somebody deserves major kudos. Either the stunt double or Cate the Great herself because there is some beautiful ballet here. (For the record, Cate has broken the tie with Renee Zellweger to become my favorite actress. Amy Adams has also supplanted Renee at the two spot.)
As always with a David Fincher film, there is gorgeous cinematography. Or at least it looked like it should have been gorgeous. Let me explain. It has been said that the difference between shooting with a digital camera instead of a film camera is an intangible element called 'warmth.' I had never really noticed it until this movie. A lot of the scenes in this movie felt 'cold.' I am convinced it had nothing to do with the crew's competence, it simply is because they shot the movie digitally. I could tell because Fincher decided to go for a very rich and bold New Orleans look. For a good example of this style on film take a look at 'JFK' or 'Miller's Crossing.' This type of look intangibly looks better on film. I don't know why. It may seem nitpicky to criticize a movie for lack of 'warmth' but I did notice it and it did sort of bother me.
Another thing I didn't like about the movie was the idea to have a dying woman narrate the story. Call me age-insensitive but the raspy and stuttering voices of the elderly are not the best for storytelling. I hadn't experienced such a bad storyteller since 'The English Patient.' And I don't see why they had to make Cate Blanchett so ugly and so out of breath. I don't understand why they needed her dying in the hospital at all. It is so unattractive and unappealing. Take it out altogether I say. There I just cut twenty superflous minutes out of a 2 hour and 45 minute movie without losing anything. Your welcome.
I also have to point out that this is the second movie this year to have at least five funeral scenes. The other was "Syncedoche, New York." In terms of style "Benjamin Button" is superior because you get to stare at Brad Pitt getting prettier instead of Phillip Seymour Hoffman getting uglier. But in terms of substance, "Synecdoche" is much better than "Button." What "Button" only mentions in small vignettes "Synecdoche" delves into in great detail and a better discussion. The numerous funeral scenes are funnier and more thoughtful in "Synecdoche" than they are in "Button."
There is buzz that "Button" will garner a lot of Academy nominations. I don't agree with the buzz. I don't think it is good enough for Best Picture or Best Director. I have always been a fan of Brad Pitt and believed he has been snubbed before (Especially for 'Fight Club' 'Snatch' and 'Babel') but he shouldn't get a nomination for this role. Seriously, there isn't too much here and how many accolades should you receive simply by looking like yourself. I can see support nominations for cinematography, visual effects, original score, and Blanchett perhaps depending on whether it was indeed her who was dancing. But that's all.
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