Some Things Last

Rating: 10/10 (26 December 2008)

Director David Fincher has crafted a masterpiece. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is a an artful drama that soothes your soul and makes you ponder. This movie is remarkable in every way. What starts out as a period piece becomes... a journey of a lifetime filled with love, life, death and the search to understand and finally embrace the meaning of age and the wisdom that comes with it. Eric Roth's adapted screenplay is perfect, the style of language chosen is well-written, F. Scott Fitzgerald would be proud.
You'd be surprised how gentle the direction is considering David Fincher usually associate himself with conflicts and thrillers (Se7en, Fight Club). When it comes to movies like BENJAMIN BUTTON, names like Steven Spielberg or Richard Attenborough might be the first to come to mind as the ones possibly helming such a beautiful film, but nope, it's David Fincher who proves how versatile he can be.
Eric Roth who won Oscar for adapting Forrest Gump is definitely one of my favorite screenwriters of all time. And in a way, he makes BENJAMIN BUTTON seem like a much calmer version of Forrest Gump, both characters are often naive, trying things for the first time ever, both stories span across many years, but Button goes grows mature in mind over time even though his body ages backward while Gump, well, still as naive as ever.
I really enjoy Roth's choices of dialogue, those memorable quotes that sound so poetic and there's power in the subtlety of it all.
Original score by Alexandre Desplat is magical, it gives you the feeling like you're listening to a classic tale or nursery rhyme. Cinematography by Claudio Miranda makes every shot breathtaking, it's like looking a painting and you can't seem to keep your eyes off of it.
The production design, art direction, costume, the editing, all of those aspects compliment each other and go appropriate with the timeline of the story. Gotta give the most credit to the make-up dept. The way they make Brad Pitt look old and and grow younger each year as Cate Blanchett would grow older and older instead, it's excellent and mindblowing. You'll be in awe.
Great casting decision. Who on earth can look like a teenager even when he hits his 40s other than Brad Pitt? That man is like Johnny Depp and Tom Cruise, they never seem to age at all. Brad Pitt, in my opinion, has always been just an okay actor whose image and acting don't necessarily leave with you after you watch his movie but BENJAMIN BUTTON is not his usually movie. The New Orleans accent might be a little rough around the edges but I think he does a fine job here as a man who doesn't force his ways in this life, he shows his intentions but then he'd also things happen as they may, if time allows. His character lives in a place where he sees death frequently, so he learns to accept and never dwell in self-pity and just live, and live to fullest is exactly what he does.
Taraji P. Henson who plays Queeny, Benjamin's step-mother, if you will, she gives the performance of her lifetime. She gets my vote for Best Supporting Actress. And who can deny the elegance of the great Cate Blanchett who plays Daisy with such beauty and grace. What an incredible talent.
This movie makes you think about how to deal with the fact and fear of growing older. We can either be depressed about it or make the best and enjoy every single minute with the ones you care about and accumulate as much memory as you can because despite what you may think... some things last.