Do you know I was struck by lightning 7 times, An old man Out of nowhere pops up to ask this question to apna Braddy about 6 times in the film, and ensures us a smile at least 6 times in this otherwise LONG, TEDIOUS and Trying-to-be-Important film - ‘The curious case of Benjamin Button’
I can understand a movie taking its time to tell a story, especially movies which span over a lifetime, centuries in this case. I understand, but that doesn’t mean you have to make it LABORIOUS, PROSAIC, and DEARY,
Fortunately or Unfortunately I had read the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, before watching the movie and loved it for its Humor, its pace and above all its simplicity, The movie versions sadly fails in all the 3 aspects. The adaptation done by Eric Roth does not reflect the class and the poignancy that his earlier work had - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has some overt similarities to Forest -
It’s a film about a "special" man who sees amazing things and falls in love with a decidedly normal woman, he meets her through various stages in his life – historic events form the background - all told through voice-over, with lessons of life thrown in(Box of chocolates is metaphor is replaced with the Humming bird metaphor)
But Sadly its not even Half as Elegant, Robert Zemeckis’ movie was funny, heartfelt, and features some excellent performances. It revisited key historical moments with charm and a hint of wit, and although it inspired nostalgia and sentimentality in many audiences, but CCBB just have it!
Benjamin Button begins on the day Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Daisy(Cate Blanchett), an old woman on her deathbed. Her daughter, Caroline(Julia Ormond), is at her side. Daisy tells Caroline a story about a clockmaker who lost his son in war, and who made a famous clock that ticked backwards, hoping that one day it would undo his son’s death. Then Daisy asks Caroline to read a diary — the diary of a man named Benjamin Button(Brad Pitt), who was born an old man, and aged backwards his whole life.
His mother dead from childbirth, his father takes one look at the child who is supposedly born an old man with(Cataract, Arthirits etc) decides to abandon him in typical Hindi movie style leaves him in the doorstep of Queenie(played superbly by Taraji P. Henson), who runs an Old age home. Slowly but surely it becomes obvious to everyone that he is slowly aging backward.
As he grows up, he meets the young Daisy, and as they grow older, they fall in love — drifting in and out of each others’ lives for many years. When Benjamin goes to sea, joins the army, and has a few other adventures; Daisy trains to be a ballerina, when he comes back Daisy is a 26 year old girl, with big dreams and an Illustrious career in front of her.
It doesn’t work out, but finallyDaisy and Benjamin. meet at crossroads of their age in the middle of Benjamin growing younger while Daisy grows older, They spend time togther and have a baby, Benjamin belives he cannot be a father to his daughter due to his reverse aging and leaves to travel the world.
Benjamin then returns as a teenager to meet Daisy in her dance studio. The aging Daisy is now married, Benjamin departs again and continues to grow younger. The film ends with the old clock being removed from the train station. Shortly afterward, in the spring of 2003, the now-physically infant, 85-year-old Benjamin dies in Daisy’s arms,
See, let me make on thing clear It is not unpleasant to watch, but what’s troubling about Benjamin Button is It’s predictable without being memorable, it’s like watching a movie that you would think u will make, if given the same screenplay Perhaps the film’s most delightful passage is when Benjamin meets Elizabeth Abbott(Tilda Swinton), the wife of a British spy who’s staying at the same Russian hotel as he is. She and Benjamin begin staying up all night talking to each other, developing a friendship that suddenly becomes something more; she’s Benjamin’s first love, and he’s her last shot at happiness. The fact that we’re able to see the reality at both ends of the spectrum makes it bittersweet.
A good part of credit for Brad Pitt’s performance should go to the CGI guys, Cate Blanchett is stunning as the daisy, Her eyes carry off a range of emotions effortlessly right from that of a young girl who is proud of her talent and confident of her sexuality to the twitchy helpless women who watches her dreams as a balle dancer come crashing down, to the awestruck lady in love who is weary that her love is aging backwards while she isn’t. Cate Blanchett is MINDBLOWING! The supporting cast don’t leave much impact apart from Taraji and to a great extent even Tilda.
Both characters when they reappear later bring back a certain emotion but the same can’t be said about others One doesn’t feel at all for his father who leaves Button his wealth before he dies, One also doesn’t feel for the sailor gives Benjamin his years in War, his own story doesn’t touch you, hell it doesn’t even register. The kenyan guy in the beginning of the movie(what was that all about)
There are certain things about the movie that I didn’t like but purely personal reason like his abandoning of his family. Just because he was going to get younger is no excuse to run out on your wife and child when he could have spent another 20 years with them easily.
All the while he "wishes" he could have been there and sends postcard saying I wish I was there in your first day of school, arre Why the hell wasn’t he there? He was capable enough to travel the world,
Some other thing that challenged my commonsense is Daisy’s daughter didn’t know her mother was a ballerina, even though she obviously grew up in Daisy’s ballet school.
David Fincher is one of the best directors of Hollywood If this was some other director then this could have passed off as an attempt to win an Oscar, as this is exact kind of movie that the Academy seems to love, but David Fincher ain’t one like that.
He has not only made a sci-fi like Aliens, but also a crime thriller as Zodaic and Seven and his best work till date is Fight Club which I have seen about 20 times and still counting, Its because of the greatness of all these movies that this attempt marks as a slip up
In the end all I can say is that I am happy that this time the OSCARS GOT IT RIGHT and didn’t go for the BIG BUDGET’S, BIGGER STARS and hence BIGGEST AWARDS formula… Thank you and JAI HO! Academy