Last night I went to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I wasn’t sure what to expect from it due to mostly mixed but slightly edging towards positive reviews and a rather solid 71% on rottentomatoes.com. On one hand I was turned off by the soppy aspect of it and the fact that is was rather ‘conveniently’ released during award season like a worm on a hook. On the other hand I was interested because it is directed by David Fincher the man who brought us such masterpieces as the taut, intense Se7en and the mind boggling Fight Club.
The film start out at the end of the 1st world war in which Benjamin (Brad Pitt) is neglected at birth by his father due to the fact that he is born with the physical features of an 80 year old man. The film then tell the story through his life as he grows up but gradually begins to look younger. He soon meets Daisy (Cate Blanchett) of whom they fall in love with each other. All this is told in flashback from the present day as Blanchett lies on her death bed somewhere in her 80’s whilst her daughter reads through Benjamin’s dairy.
Performance wise this film is just as good as any other film I’ve seen this year so far. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are both powerhouses portraying various different age groups perfectly, although as an old lady Blanchett is very incoherent. The film is also quite strong from a directing point of view, Fincher has proven himself capable of pulling off drama films, although his forte will always be masculine orientated thrillers.
This film has the ability to strike a chord with even the most hardened viewers pulling right at their heart strings and delivering a numerous amount of touching moments. Also notable is that the theme of death occurs on so many occasions.
Although I enjoyed this film I did feel it to be relatively flawed and quite plodding during some segments. For a period drama film there is a bit too much CGI blowing the illusion at times and making it feel all too synthetic (No thats not me having a pop at the special effects used to age Brad Pitt, that aspect of the CGI was seamless). I also felt it was trying too hard to be a so called ‘prestigious’ film. One scene involving Blanchett by a water fountain in a red dress trying to allure Pitt felt far to Bergmanesque for my liking that I nearly lost interest. It also felt a little... uh.. mushy wushy right down the piano music score. Is this the Titanic of 2009?
Overall I largely enjoyed this film, I felt it had a lot going for it in the drama stakes despite being a bit .....uh whats a 'politically correct' word for pompous?
This film was very moving It would be wrong for me to give this less than four stars. Overall I am very satisfied with my cinema going experience this year although there is now a part of me who wants to see something crap just so I have an excuse to write a negative review. Hotel for Dogs anyone?
4 STARS
(P.S. Do not cast Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton in the same film together, they look too much alike, it confuses the viewer, it’s unfair on them. It’s like when Michael Douglas and Martin Sheen were both cast in Wall Street. Just Don’t Do It!)
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