There simply is no better fractal than Button for my review of The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button. What else need I say?-
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button started as a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Now it is transformed and made its way to the screen as a big, bloated creation, heavy with symbolism but light on meaning. The “curious case” is baby Benjamin (mostly played by Brad Pitt) who is born old but lives his life in reverse (growing younger with each passing day. (He starts out life as a baby--with arthritis, cataracts and a host of other aliment: oddly enough, he ends as a baby too--but that’s a minor point compared to the many major things in the plot.) What follows is a long, drawn out examination of Benjamin’s life-in-reverse. His mother dies in childbirth and his father takes the baby and abandons the child on the steps of an “Old Folks Home” in 1918 New Orleans where he is raised by a single black mother. It goes on to chronicle Benjamin’s life and love for Daisy (played by the always-radiant Cate Blanchett.)
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The movie, directed by David Fincher, is meticulously crafted with every detail perfectly realized, be it custmes, hair, music, architecture and even dialog. Brad Pitt proves once again that he’s more than just a pretty face as he goes from little old man to teenager. (He was nominated for a Golden Globe and well may be nominated for an Academy Award--but I doubt he’ll win.) The digital effects and makeup used to transform him are almost perfect through the whole film. Cate Blanchett makes magic with the little she’s given to work with and Taraji P. Henson straddles the fine line of sympathy and caricature playing Queenie. Tilda Swinton is perfectly cast as Elizabeth, a married woman who Benjamin has a love affair with at the opening of World War II.
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Sadly, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button suffers from being “interesting” rather than enjoyable. It’s “interesting” to see Brad Pitt act the various ages in the movie and it’s “interesting” to wonder what part is makeup and what is digital enhancement. It’s “interesting” to see the sets and costumes through the ages and it’s “interesting” to hear the music. The movie is VERY LONG and the going is often slow. There are lots of little vignettes that are "interesting" without illuminating much of anything. Fans of symbolism will enjoy the movie but I found the movie to be weighed down with its own sense of self-importance. The “artsy” crowd will probably appreciate this movie a lot but at the end I came away wondering is that all there is? kept looking for a deeper truth or some higher insight but there was nothing. It’s just a simple story of star-crossed lovers that doesn’t have much in the way of a point.
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FINAL GRADE: B-
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