Nothing lasts...

There are a lot of things that I use to tell whether or not a film goes from good to great. Probably the most influential criteria I use is whether or not the film stays with me after the viewing.

A few hours ago, I went to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a film I've been wanting to see for months and I must say, I was not disappointed. This is the first film in quite sometime that has stayed with me afterward. It was flawed, in many ways, but it was also great in many ways, too.

The basic premise is that a man Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) was born an old man and grew young. What I enjoyed about this film the most is that, the younger Benjamin grew the more I enjoyed the film. The story's frame was centered around a dying woman in a hospital in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. She has her only daughter reading out of a journal of a man named Benjamin Button, where he is recanting the story of his extraordinary life.

Benjamin grows up (or perhaps, down) in a old retirement home run by a woman who ends up being his surrogate mother. One of the old ladies who lived in the home had a granddaughter named Daisy (Cate Blanchett). When Pitt and Blanchett first meet in the film, Pitt is a seemingly old wheel-chair bound man, where Blanchett is just a young girl. You see a connection early in the film between the two, but it is straight up bizare because of Benjamin's physical apperance. However, they are both mentally on the same page. The two characters remain friends throughout their childhood and always have an established link to one another.

It isn't until about their 30's-40's are they finally able to find a romantic connection. As the film states they "met in the middle" of their lives. I thought most of the film before it reaches it's fulcum was simply "good". That is to say, the story of Benjamin Button growing down was funny, new and very interesting when told from his perpspective. But, when I was about 1/3 through the movie, I thought it was taking on the shape of Forrest Gump. Simply a "growing up" story told from the perspctive of a unusual narrator. This lessened the film in my eyes until I got about halfway through. Once the two characters finally achieved a relationship, and the problem was no longer establishing it, but rather, maintaning it--I found the film taking on a persona of its own. The cohesion of their relationship wasnt the interesting thing about this film, but rather it's inevitable downfall due to their lives flowing in opposing directions. Daisy was only growing old, while Button was growing young.

Just as the marquee quote by Pitt says, "I was thinking about how nothing lasts, and what a shame that is."

Blanchett responds, "Some things last."


It takes about 2 (out of 3) hours for this film to really sink it's teeth in. Some may complain that three hours is too long for a movie. Generally, that depends on the person. But for me, I feel any film can be any length as long as the plot justifies it. In essence, as long as the story is being told, length shouldn't matter. That being said, I felt the length of the film was justified.

One of the things about this film that I thought was really cool were the special effects involved in the various ages of Brad Pitt. The most notable being the age when he (looks to be) in his mid 20s. The amazing thing about this is somehow they were able to make Brad Pitt look like the Brad Pitt of the early 90s when he was doing his early work (Thelma and Loise, A River Run's Through It, Legends of the Fall, Seven, etc.) If you are a Brad Pitt fan, it's almost surreal to see him like that again. In fact, it was one of the few instances of subtle special effects that I thought vastly improved my overall perception of the film and not simply an added bonus.

But there are a few things in this film that I felt were out of place. The story's frame being the most notable. In the beginning the idea of an old woman telling the story through a book is a little overused these days, but once the film "had me" my belief was suspended enough for me to accept it. The frame, also, was set in a hospital during Hurricane Katrina which was somewhat insignificant in relationship to the story of the protagonist (other than it takes place mostly in New Orleans).

Overall this film's greatness falls somewhere between Big Fish and Forrest Gump--the two films I feel it should be closely related with. Eric Roth wrote the script's for both this film and Forrest Gump, so it's easy to see, when you compare the two, how they are alike. In terms of strength of story and romantic arc, this film is just as good if not better than Forest Gump. But in the characterization and cultural homogenization department, Gump has the upper hand. I feel this film will be nominated for Best Picture and may very well win (depends how liberal the Academy votes after having Milk in their heads). But Brad Pitt deserves his first oscar for this role. Had it been most any other actor, this film would not have been as good.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a sublime movie going experience and entices emotions that are rarely provoked in films of late. It exceeded most of my expectations and David Fincher will live on as one of my favorite directors.

4.5/5 Stars.

P.S. I like to collect memorable quotes from movies, and the greatest ones usually reflect the greatness of the respective movie. That being said, my favorite one from this film is:

"Life is defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss."
-Benjamin Button

So true, Brad. So true.