I am not particularly a fan of David Fincher and his work. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a 2008 American fantasy romantic drama film directed by David Fincher.The storyline by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord is loosely based on the 1922 short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald.The film stars Brad Pitt as a man who ages in reverse and Cate Blanchett as the love interest throughout his life. Movie Review. All those around him, everyone he knows and loves, grow older in the usual way, and he passes them on the way down. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Apt. Born under unusual circumstances, Benjamin Button springs into being as an elderly man in a New Orleans nursing home and ages in reverse. It is also a film that hinges on the viewers' acceptance of a man aging in reverse. However, a few minor hiccups in the screenplay are enough to bring it down a peg off the masterpiece pedestal for me. Throughout, the film seems to lack the necessary ingredient to engage the audience with more than its superficial beauty. Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password. ... one that sparks interest and brims with potential, but The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is not faring well with the critics. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was a near epic film in almost the same way Forrest Gump was. We are an observer of our passage, and so are others. It is a very long film, but how could it not be in order to tell the story of a whole life? The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button review. David Fincher’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (now available in a two-disc set from Criterion and in a single-disc release from Paramount) aims to answer that question. There was another film this year that isn't in the "top five," or listed among the front-runners at all, and it's a profound consideration of the process of living and aging. All those around him, everyone he knows and loves, grow older in the usual way, and he passes them on the way down. It may very well win. Sophisticatedly picant in his language, his direction matches Steven Soderberg's capability of three dimensional perspective. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is a splendidly made film based on a profoundly mistaken premise. The film was directed by David Fincher, no stranger to labyrinths ("Zodiac," "Fight Club"). When his mother dies in childbirth, young Benjamin Button’s father looks upon his son for the first time. What fantasies apply? the curious case of benjamin button December 27, 2008 by Matt The key, insurmountable dilemma of David Fincher’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is that the character at the center of it all is a study not in dramatic evolution, but inherent passivity; a cipher meant to evoke something deep and meaningful about life and love, but a cipher all the same. It’s a film about a man ( Brad Pitt ) who ages in reverse, born old and grows young, seeing the world through a set of eyes unlike any other. It tells the story of a man who is old when he is born and an infant when he dies. the curious case of benjamin button was one of the best films of 2008. brad pitt does a great job acting this role. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at Amazon.com. It will be viewed and valued decades from now. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button David Fincher is a controversial director in my house. Yes, he had to undergo much makeup, create body language and perform physically to be manipulated by computers. You may even shake your watch to check it is still going. As I watched the film, I became consumed by a conviction that this was simply wrong. The movie's premise devalues any relationship, makes futile any friendship or romance, and spits, not into the face of destiny, but backward into the maw of time. 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' is a curious film indeed. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button“, the closest thing David Fincher’s made to an Oscar drama, seeks to measure the grip of that handshake. Soul! That goes with the territory. Benjamin rejects these logical consequences because, I suspect, an audience wouldn't sit still for them. Sign up here. It even undermines the charm of compound interest. out of 13 nominations, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” , won three academy awards for best art way, best make-up and best ocular effects. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. I can't imagine many people wanting to see the movie twice. for brief war violence, sexual content, language and smoking, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is a splendidly made film based on a profoundly mistaken premise. Twelve years after his birth, he meets Daisy, a child who… The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) directed by David Fincher • Reviews… Does she picture the old man she loved? Eddie C Super Reviewer. One troubling thing is the pedophile overtone that runs throughout the film. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a fantastic book, and although it only took me an hour to finish it, I felt like the length of all of those years and experiences the protagonist went through also affected me. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a monumental journey—as unusual as it is epic—that follows Benjamin’s remarkable adventure of romance and redemption from the end of World War I through the twenty-first century. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a character-driven, star vehicle for Hollywood A-lister Brad Pitt as a man who is born with a mysterious disease where he ages backward. Strip away all the classy art direction and CGI trickery, and the story is a bit of a snooze. It may be flawed, especially from a bloated script, but it still manages to be one of the more impressive films of the year. If a day repeats itself (Harold Ramis' "Groundhog Day"), each new day begins with the hero awakening and moving forward. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. It tells a very intriguing and unique story about the life experiences of a peculiar individual, and the three Oscars it won are certainly most well-deserved. It just goes on and on and on and on and on and on. Everything comes after the beginning, and we all seem to share this awareness of the direction of time's arrow. Like its title this is a curious film, indeed. Directed by David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a powerful testament to life and death, love and loss. For those up to making the jump, a moving and rather mind-bending experience awaits. We begin a movie or novel and assume it will tell a story in chronological time. Read 23 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Director David Fincher ("Se7en," "Zodiac") leaves his violent thrillers behind to take on this technically ambitious romantic reverie on the ephemeral qualities of life and love, but after the ignored masterpiece that was last year's "Zodiac," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button… He's born as a man with a waist-length beard who can read the encyclopedia, but in childhood, plays with toys and throws temper tantrums, has to be spanked and then disappears into a wordless reverie. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" will be nominated for a slew of Oscars, though Fincher's "Zodiac" was much more deserving of such recognition. Wistful, melancholic, steeped in a sense of impermanence and looming mortality, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is not a movie one could have predicted from the maker of "Se7en," "Fight Club" Fincher is a master of establishing atmosphere, and the film has a dark, fable-like quality that is nearly intoxicating. Attending is her daughter, Caroline. Not much is said about Benjamin's mother, which is a pity, because he is 5-feet-8 at birth, and I wonder how much pushing that required. I won't necessarily quibble with an Oscar nomination for Pitt, though I'd find myself extremely disappointed with a win. According to the oddsmakers at MovieCityNews, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is third among the top five favorites for best picture. Even time-travel stories always depend on the inexorable direction of time. Copyright © Fandango. Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, The Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) is a boy born with the biology of a pensioner As he grows up, he grows younger, and falls in love with Daisy (Cate Blanchett). This is presumably meant to be the emotional high point. Benjamin Button is certainly interesting visually - but as Forrest's mom will tell you, it's what's inside the box that counts. I said the film is well-made, and so it is. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a magical, heartfelt, joyful and melancholy film, beautiful to look at and filled with wonder. It is a magical movie... Benjamin Button is a finely crafted movie, with a more philosophical bent than any other big-budget fantasy of 2008. And if looked upon, their careers have been similar. If time is fractured into branching paths ("Synecdoche, New York"), it is about how we attempt to control our lives. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is a good film. Expert voice work from Cate Blanchett, impeccable New Orleans accent, and a tired broken lilt later on indicating how old Daisy is. No! this movie is around three hours long. But no, it involves the process of forgetting our youth as we grow older. Flashbacks and flash-forwards, we understand. No catharsis is possible. What are they thinking during sex? and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. Roth's approach makes Benjamin the size of a baby at birth. Sidney Poitier’s 7 Most Memorable Performances, All Harry Potter Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer. No! As I watched the film, I became consumed by a conviction that this was simply, Mr. I shuddered. Fitzgerald wrote a comic farce, which Roth has made a forlorn elegy. It can invent as much as it pleases. I know I did. There are worse films than The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and those 15 masterful minutes may well justify the price of admission. Throughout the course of the film, Button (Brad Pitt) faces the struggles of making and losing loved ones as he embarks on life adventures whilst growing young. It is an interesting and curious and occasionally captivating film. F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story is expanded into a sweeping survey of 20th century history and culture as seen through the eyes of a man who is born old and grows younger through the century. He portrays the Ages of Man with much skill. There is no lesson to be learned. It is a beautiful film. Still, it tries a little too hard to be profound without ever completely involving the emotions of the viewer. This story seemed to be demonstrating the unstoppable speed of life. Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F Scott FitzgeraldThis droll short story has been elevated to the status of a Penguin Classic by the new film, says Jane Housham How could we perform that act of love if we were aging in opposite directions? I realize that. It tells the story of a man who is old when he is born and an infant when he dies. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a sentimental reflection on the ephemeral nature of love and of life. I'd like to report that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button represents the end of an era, one of those turning-points when American movies just have to change because they can't get any worse. the story is well thought out. But it's so hard to care about this story. One would be hard … The The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008 Film) Community Note includes chapter-by-chapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy You can't go through life waving goodbye. Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! The film adaptation takes this interesting premise and stretches it out (way, way, out) into a lengthy meditation on the nature of life, death, and everything human that is crammed in between. this affects his whole life. Watching it is an emotional experience, despite it's meandering pace (it could have -- should have -- been made leaner to make it even stronger). There is a famous line by e.e. He grows younger, until he resembles Brad Pitt, and then a younger Brad Pitt, and then -- we do not follow him all the way as he recedes into the temporal distance. Converts an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story about a man aging backward into an overly long exercise in pseudo-profundity bearing little resemblance to its source. This strange premise (and a hefty running time) demands a huge leap of faith from viewers. Let me paraphrase the oldest story I know: In the beginning, there was nothing, and then God said, "Let there be light." The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a heart-felt story of a man born in his eighties and follows his life as he ages backwards. All those around him, everyone he knows and loves, grow older in … Yes, you say, but Benjamin Button's story is a fantasy. The screenplay is by Eric Roth, who wrote "Forrest Gump" and reprises the same approach, by having his hero's condition determine his life experience. Forgot your password? Given the resources and talent here, quite a movie might have resulted. That's Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York." In Fitzgerald's version, even Benjamin himself fails to comprehend his fate. Nominated for Outstanding Debut Feature at Cinema Eye Honors, Celebrate The HistoryMakers 20@2020: 20 Days and 20 Nights Streams Online Through December 20th, The Mandalorian Chapter 15 Recap: Those Poor Mudscuffers. Fitzgerald sardonically but consistently goes the other way: The child is born as an old man, and grows smaller and shorter until he is finally a bottle-fed baby. Rated PG-13 The actors are the best: Taraji P. Henson, Julia Ormond, Elias Koteas, Tilda Swinton. But how did he prepare emotionally? If it moves backward through a story (Harold Pinter's "Betrayal"), its scenes reflect a chronology seen out of order. There are worse films than The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and those 15 masterful minutes may well justify the price of admission. it is all worth seeing. The dying woman asks Caroline to read from the diary of a friend named Benjamin, whose life addresses this question: If one could live in reverse—old to young—would inevitable losses be erased? But there's a lot of movie before and after Swinton's cameo. What exercises would the Method suggest? as benjamin button grows older he gets younger. Later in the film, when he is younger and she is older, they make love. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, has a compelling, haunting plot. In the film, Benjamin (Brad Pitt) as an older man is enchanted by a younger girl (Cate Blanchett). It has been proposed that one reason people marry is because they desire a witness to their lives. I felt instead: Life doesn't work this way. And on. Pitt will of course be nominated for best actor and may deserve it because of his heroic struggle in the performance. He is born looking like a baby with all the infirmities old age. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a film adapted from the 1921 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, about a man who is born old and proceeds to age in reverse until his death. To say, however, that Roth "adapted" the original short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald would be putting it mildly. I loved The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It tells the story of a man who is old when he is born and an infant when he dies. kate blanchett does a good job as well. cummings that might seem to apply to Benjamin Button: and down he forgot as up he grew. the ending of this film is good. But there's a lot of movie before and after Swinton's cameo. Yet I strongly admired The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It expends Oscar-worthy talents on an off-putting gimmick. and the Terms and Policies, 3W book. It could have worked, had it ever snapped to life, but it doesn't. All rights reserved. Genres : Drama 9.9 Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. This film is about a man named Benjamin Button who leads much of an ordinary life under not so ordinary circumstances. But the film's admirers speak of how deeply they were touched, what meditations it invoked. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button begins in the hospital room of an elderly, terminally ill woman. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Trailer 1. Laura's Review: B. Saddled out of the gate as the presumptive winner of this year's Oscar for Best Picture, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is top-heavy with expectations. The film was a really successful one when it came out on the screen and secures nominations for the academy awards in 13 different classs some of them are best histrion, best back uping histrion, best way, etc. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is a splendidly made film based on a profoundly mistaken premise. the cgi looks phenomanol. Don't have an account? You mark my words. And so begins The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, adapted from the 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who is born in his eighties and ages backwards. Does he remember her as a girl? The nearly three-hour film is expan… 'S so hard to be the emotional high point occasionally captivating film beginning, and those 15 minutes. 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