The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The best way to describe The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is that it's like a more realistic version of Forrest Gump.
It seems strange to bring up the issue of realism when you're talking about a film where the title character is born a withered old man and ages backwards to infancy, but it's pretty accurate. While Forrest Gump's far fetched exploits saw him changing the course of history, and interacting with presidents and assorted pop culture icons, Benjamin Button stays well out of the limelight, privately leading his life.
This said, Benjamin Button's life that isn't much different from Forrest Gump's. Both Benjamin and Forrest are kindhearted "freaks" from the American South. Both have feisty, loving mothers who insist on raising their son as normally as possible. Both meet the love of their life in childhood. Both have a big, dramatic "walking" scene. Both are drafted into a major war. And both seek adventure on the open water.
The similarities between Forrest Gump and Benjamin Button extend to the films themselves. Both movies both follow an episodic format, as various people enter and leave the main character's life. And both movies feature cutting edge special effects wizardry that integrates seamlessly into the film world at the same time it makes the impossible utterly believable.
If all this wasn't enough, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was adapted from F. Scott Fitzgerald's original short story by screenwriter Eric Roth, who also brought author Winston Groom's Forrest Gump to the big screen.
All this said, out of the 2 films there can be little doubt that Forrest Gump is the greater audience pleaser, which probably explains why it won so many Academy Awards back in 1995, while Benjamin Button had to settle for a handful of technical awards this year.
Benjamin Button has its light, comical moments but they are rare, and sometimes feel overly quirky. While the audience laughed heartily at the repeat lightning strike gag, for me it felt out of place.
With a running time of well over 2-and-a-half hours the film also feels quite long, and anyone who has seen the trailer may find themselves ticking off scenes and shots they've already glimpsed.
This said, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button does become more moving as the film progresses. The end of Benjamin's life is particularly touching and a lot of this has to do with Cate Blanchett's excellent performance as Daisy, Benjamin's great love. Over the course of the film she believably transitions from a self-absorbed, vociferous young woman into a mature, quietly suffering figure who has had to endure more sadness and make more heartbreaking decisions than others around her are aware.
Actually, Blanchett isn't the only female performer to shine in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Although she has only a small role, Tilda Swinton is potent as an uptight English woman who slowly learns to sacrifice propriety for passion. The audience warms to her just as Benjamin Button does. And Taraji P. Henson brings a lot of warm to the film in its earlier scenes as Benjamin's take-no-nonsense adoptive mother, Queenie. Frankly it's disappointing and an injustice to the character that she just seems to disappear from the film without a satisfying on-screen send off.
As for Brad Pitt, every woman in the audience will fall in love with him in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. While Blanchett clearly gets more of a showboat role, Pitt does very well as Benjamin (most cinema goers should of course know by now that Pitt is more than a pretty face). The problem though is that the character doesn't quite ring true. Benjamin is too good to be true - he never loses his temper, never gets upset. Hell, even Forrest Gump decked one of Jenny's many abusive boyfriends.
Ultimately, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button will probably go down better with female viewers than male audiences, thanks to the emphasis in its second half on a very unusual love story. It's a thoughtful and moving piece of cinema, masterfully made, and with excellent performances and a wonderful concept, but I just can't call it a masterpiece.
It seems strange to bring up the issue of realism when you're talking about a film where the title character is born a withered old man and ages backwards to infancy, but it's pretty accurate. While Forrest Gump's far fetched exploits saw him changing the course of history, and interacting with presidents and assorted pop culture icons, Benjamin Button stays well out of the limelight, privately leading his life.
This said, Benjamin Button's life that isn't much different from Forrest Gump's. Both Benjamin and Forrest are kindhearted "freaks" from the American South. Both have feisty, loving mothers who insist on raising their son as normally as possible. Both meet the love of their life in childhood. Both have a big, dramatic "walking" scene. Both are drafted into a major war. And both seek adventure on the open water.
The similarities between Forrest Gump and Benjamin Button extend to the films themselves. Both movies both follow an episodic format, as various people enter and leave the main character's life. And both movies feature cutting edge special effects wizardry that integrates seamlessly into the film world at the same time it makes the impossible utterly believable.
If all this wasn't enough, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was adapted from F. Scott Fitzgerald's original short story by screenwriter Eric Roth, who also brought author Winston Groom's Forrest Gump to the big screen.
All this said, out of the 2 films there can be little doubt that Forrest Gump is the greater audience pleaser, which probably explains why it won so many Academy Awards back in 1995, while Benjamin Button had to settle for a handful of technical awards this year.
Benjamin Button has its light, comical moments but they are rare, and sometimes feel overly quirky. While the audience laughed heartily at the repeat lightning strike gag, for me it felt out of place.
With a running time of well over 2-and-a-half hours the film also feels quite long, and anyone who has seen the trailer may find themselves ticking off scenes and shots they've already glimpsed.
This said, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button does become more moving as the film progresses. The end of Benjamin's life is particularly touching and a lot of this has to do with Cate Blanchett's excellent performance as Daisy, Benjamin's great love. Over the course of the film she believably transitions from a self-absorbed, vociferous young woman into a mature, quietly suffering figure who has had to endure more sadness and make more heartbreaking decisions than others around her are aware.
Actually, Blanchett isn't the only female performer to shine in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Although she has only a small role, Tilda Swinton is potent as an uptight English woman who slowly learns to sacrifice propriety for passion. The audience warms to her just as Benjamin Button does. And Taraji P. Henson brings a lot of warm to the film in its earlier scenes as Benjamin's take-no-nonsense adoptive mother, Queenie. Frankly it's disappointing and an injustice to the character that she just seems to disappear from the film without a satisfying on-screen send off.
As for Brad Pitt, every woman in the audience will fall in love with him in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. While Blanchett clearly gets more of a showboat role, Pitt does very well as Benjamin (most cinema goers should of course know by now that Pitt is more than a pretty face). The problem though is that the character doesn't quite ring true. Benjamin is too good to be true - he never loses his temper, never gets upset. Hell, even Forrest Gump decked one of Jenny's many abusive boyfriends.
Ultimately, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button will probably go down better with female viewers than male audiences, thanks to the emphasis in its second half on a very unusual love story. It's a thoughtful and moving piece of cinema, masterfully made, and with excellent performances and a wonderful concept, but I just can't call it a masterpiece.
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