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Throughout its undeniably lengthy 160 minutes, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a captivating, heartfelt, jubilant and melancholy experience - beautiful to observe and overflowing with a sense of marvel and wonder. Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story, this strange, ambitious saga of a man who ages in reverse is presented in an immaculate classical style; every detail tended to with fastidious devotion. Director David Fincher has renounced the serial killer/psycho/dark side of humanity movies he's recognised for in order to undertake this stunning drama. It's Fincher's background - not to mention his reputation as a confirmed cynic - that makes him an intriguing choice of director, and the right man for the job. Some directors would have grasped the premise and crafted a hefty Kleenex workout, but Fincher infuses the film's more emotionally touching scenes with an acquiescent acceptance that life simply has its ups and downs. Screenwriter Eric Roth (perhaps most famous for Forrest Gump) uses Fitzgerald's source material as mere inspiration - taking just the idea and name. From there Roth's script follows a path divergent to the one mapped by Fitzgerald. This filmic adaptation is therefore its own entity. Flaws aside, this is one of the most engrossing, intriguing and emotionally resonant features of 2008.
During its three-hour runtime, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button takes its audience on a tour of the 20th century, although it begins in the 21st. The film opens in New Orleans. As Hurricane Katrina closes in, Daisy (Blanchett) - an elderly woman - lays on her deathbed, attended by her daughter Caroline (Ormond). Caroline begins to read the diary of a certain Benjamin Button, who grew younger as the years passed by, and whose life repeatedly intersected with that of her mother's.
Throughout the course of his life, Benjamin travels through such eras as the Great Depression and World War II. His story is no Forrest Gump journey, however - the character isn't placed in any obvious historical or pop cultural moments, nor is he ever on television or globally renowned for his uniqueness. Benjamin's life is one lived out of the public eye, as befits a man steadily growing younger as the years elapse.
Benjamin was born in 1918. His case is a curious one as he was born arthritic, deaf and withered - as if in his late eighties. Unable to cope with the monstrous appearance of his son, Thomas Button (Flemyng) abandons him. Raised under the monument of a train station clock that runs backwards (a brilliant side story, and a Fitzgeraldian metaphor if ever there was one), Benjamin is raised by a caretaker at an old folk's home as he continues to grow younger and learn valuable lessons.
Button's relationship with Daisy functions as the fulcrum on which the film rests. We observe Benjamin's journey through life as he experiences different occupations and situations, but it's his recurring bond with Daisy (whom he meets when they're both technically children) that provides the film with its heart...and heartbreak.
Eric Roth's screenplay is comprised of three major segments. The first main component of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button chronicles Benjamin's infancy, when his ostensibly deteriorating physical appearance is belied by his escalating agility. Benjamin is astonishingly well adjusted considering his peculiar disability, but this is largely owing to his loving surrogate mother. The film's subsequent act transpires before, throughout, and after World War II. During this particular section, the main character enters into an affair with a middle-aged British woman (Swinton) and works onboard a tugboat (even lending a hand on said tugboat as the Pearl Harbor conflict unfolds). Upon his homecoming, Benjamin is far healthier, stronger and looks much younger. The third and final piece of the puzzle tracks Benjamin from middle age 'til his twilight years, during which he learns a number of things about sacrifice as well as redefining life and happiness. Similar to the character of Forrest Gump, Benjamin Button is an outcast of society, and history marches by him in a succession of vignettes. But director Fincher's darker side is in evidence here...
The world of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is achingly exquisite, ethereal and abundant in luxuriant visual mastery. Fincher spends almost three hours telling the story of Benjamin Button, and for the most part the time flies by effortlessly - there is little sense of dawdling, waste or indulgence (not to say there isn't...occasionally there is). It's as rich as any novel covering the scope of a man's life. Some feel the length is detrimental while others argue the length is entirely necessary to facilitate a satisfying conveyance of the life of this peculiar individual. Throughout its runtime the film evinces a steady hand that sustains narrative self-assurance, stability of tone, as well as a ripe consciousness of the mundane temperament of life's opportunities and the ephemeral quality of contentment. The frequently depressive atmosphere is occasionally lightened by humour. A recurring joke of a character being struck by lightning seven times, for instance, will definitely instigate a few giggles.
The film features remarkable recreations of Depression-era New Orleans, the oceanic battles of World War II, and 1950s Paris. Director Fincher paints across the screen like a vast canvas. A sunset beheld by Benjamin and his ailing father, for example, is a dazzling portrait of light and shadow, of water vs. sky. Similarly stunning are images of destroyed battleships or of Daisy merrily dancing, silhouetted in night and fog. In these moments Fincher encapsulates the mood of Fitzgerald's prose; his visuals evoking the words in the way Fitzgerald's words so acutely created pictures.
Every scene is filled with astoundingly intricate detail, from the nooks and crannies of the sets created by production designer Donald Graham Burt to the flawless, century-bridging costumes by Jacqueline West. Alexandre Desplat's exquisite score provides divine and unobtrusive dramatic support. Fincher and cinematographer Claudio Miranda have lensed the film mainly in deep focus images to amplify the information inhabiting each frame. The depth of the blacks they achieve as a result of shooting on digital is extraordinary. In spite of the rich tapestry on offer, the film maintains a slightly remote feel. Even with so much emotional power being exuded by the actors, it is possible that the visuals may have been warmer and more accessible had it been lensed on film. Perhaps these nitpickings are a tad too extreme; nevertheless, however speculative this may be, the desired emotional impact could've been better achieved had it been committed to celluloid.
Despite its existence as a mainstream movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button triggers a high level of meditation regarding our own mortality and the inevitability of everyone's fate. It also presents the intriguing concept of not being scared about our own demise. "Scared?" asks a daughter to her mother on her deathbed. "No. Curious. About what happens next" is the reply. Personally, this confrontational masterpiece provoked thought in me regarding what happens after death. Will we be reincarnated? Will we never exist in any form again? Do we become ghosts, wandering the planet for eternity? No other film has ever prompted such questions with such power, nor have I ever truly contemplated the possibilities of "the afterlife" until I viewed Fincher's masterwork.
Reportedly, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was in development for about fifteen years. Directors signed on and subsequently left, as did stars (thank God we were spared a Ron Howard version starring John Travolta!). Development was so prolonged simply because, until recently, technology has been unable to render the crippling effects of old age in the manner required for this motion picture. CGI wizards have long said that if an audience fails to notice the illusion they've created, their job has been properly accomplished. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button flaunts possibly the finest implementation of marvellous visual effects ever seen in a film. The aging techniques applied to Pitt and his co-stars throughout the film's duration are faultless. There's a wealth of top-notch CG wizardry on glorious display in this movie, but never is there a single moment when a viewer becomes aware of it. As an old man, Pitt looks the part - it's the equivalent of visiting an aged Pitt through a time portal. A most unnerving image is that of Pitt looking more or less the way he did back in Thelma and Louise (during the early days of his career). Cate Blanchett, too, is caked in make-up...yet the transformation from youthful beauty to aged woman bears no seams. With the fusion of imperceptible digital effects and incredible make-up, David Fincher has pulled off a remarkable feat.
Credit is also due to the actors, who by no means allow the make-up and digital effects to do the talking - each respective actor expertly walks in the shoes of different eras whilst maintaining the core of who they are.
Pitt inhabits the role of Benjamin Button amiably, tenderly and compassionately. The actor places forth a likable and watchable persona - someone an audience would like to spend so much time with. Cate Blanchett brings vibrancy and spirit to the character of Daisy. After brusquely revealing the egotistic impetuousness of Daisy's youthful self, the thespian fully registers both the passion and timidity of a mature woman.
The supporting cast is uniformly excellent, with performers like Tilda Swinton, Jared Harris, and Julia Ormond making the most of limited screen time. Swinton is particularly wonderful as the calculating adulteress. As Benjamin's surrogate mother, Taraji P. Henson is extremely convincing and congenial. To round out the main supporting cast is Jason Flemyng as Benjamin's biological father. Aging techniques are applied to virtually all the supporting cast, but as their respective characters age, so does their mannerisms and voice. There isn't a defective performance to behold.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has received decidedly mixed reviews. Certainly, there are multiple missteps. The principal flaw is the mechanism through which the story is conveyed - Daisy's daughter reading Benjamin's intimate diary to her mother on her deathbed. Not only is it clichéd, but it's a key hindrance when the audience is far too frequently removed from Benjamin's tale and placed into the hospital room. Worse, the potentially interesting fragments of Benjamin's life are entirely omitted. His final 20 years flash by in a matter of minutes. Following a ponderous and intimate examination of the protagonist's life over the course of about 150 minutes, it's disappointing to consider the exclusions. The film should've explored interesting oddities in Ben's later life - after all, he's a wise and aged soul trapped in the body of an infant. Instead of exploiting these endless possibilities, the film is limited to telling an occasionally plodding story minus any real twists. Proceedings are perfunctory from time to time as it sails towards its inevitable conclusion...and we all know its finale won't be upbeat. The film occasionally feels its 160 minutes, although it'd be erroneous to begrudge Fincher considering the meticulousness of his direction and the painstaking time the helmer has obviously pumped into this brilliantly atmospheric, eloquent, visually striking production.
It's critical for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to be viewed on its own terms - as a fairytale - or else it utterly fails. Roth's screenplay provides little grounding for the reverse aging, and consequently it's not particularly convincing. This is a fantasy, however, and it can never be perceived as anything but. It's initially difficult to accept the premise, but once you do...the effects are utterly intoxicating.
Benjamin Button's inverted aging process is merely a conduit; the journey down it allowing a viewer to acquire a slightly distorted insight into the process of living and, perhaps, a better understanding of human nature. To some, this may appear too much for a mainstream motion picture to achieve. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button seems to struggle in its endeavour to take an audience as far down its established path as it might hope to. Its fantastical premise may also difficult for some audiences to believe. Nevertheless, the film's power of compulsion cannot be denied, nor can the sense that it means something when the experience concludes. As it closes with a poignant montage, it's virtually impossible to not be emotionally touched. A majority of viewers will undoubtedly be entertained, rapt and moved, while some will find their intellect stimulated. F. Scott Fitzgerald's source material may be ancient, but the concept beneath The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has been effectively transported into the 21st century with enthralling results. It may be sometimes laborious, but this is an extraordinarily expressive tour de force - a stunning career achievement for director David Fincher. It's every bit as impressive to view as summer blockbusters, but there's also a genuine story to accompany the stunning visuals and potent atmosphere.
8.1/10
