A Mesmerizing Masterpiece on Life, Love, and Death

Rating: 10/10 (4 February 2009)

It is epic. It is beautiful. It is the best picture of the year. Director David Fincher takes on a new obstacle with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and succeeds at the highest level. Most of us know what a great director he is, but he's never a Oscar-type movie, but he will finally get his due as I expect him to be taking home the gold. The movie centers on the life of Benjamin Button, who's played by Brad Pitt. As he states throughout the film, he was born under unusual circumstances and ages backwards. With the outside of an old man, but the mind of a new born, Button had quite the obstacle to overcome as a child. He is raised by the loving Queenie, Taraji P. Henson, who runs a nursing home establishment. There he meets an assortment of characters that all effect his life in different way although one person seems to have more of an effect than the rest. Benjamin first meets Daisy, Cate Blanchett, at the home and they instantly become friends and eventually fall for each other. Over the years we watch the epic and fantasy tale of Benjamin and his journey through life.
Eric Roth wrote the screenplay and deserves high praise as he will likely be taking home gold as well come this Oscar season. He touches on death, love, and, most of all, life. Life is full of great and bad moments and nothing always lasts are two of the most powerful parts of this picture. Roth creates some incredibly moving and powerful scenes through the deep dialogue. Above all he touches on how such little details and things may have a tremendous affect, whether it's good or bad, on your own life. During one of the most moving scenes of the film, Benjamin Button explains how one small detail of a girl not breaking up with her boyfriend the night before or a man waking up on time, rather than 5 minutes late, would have a drastic affect on Daisy who, as a result, would break her leg from being hit by a car and never be able to dance again. Also, the final scene of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is also powerful and one the greatest scenes of any film I've seen this year or ever in cinema and it is incredibly moving.
Such a tremendous story and script is only the beginning to this historic achievement. Brad Pitt gives an Oscar-caliber performance as Benjamin Button creating a perfect character who changes roles along his journey through life and develops his character extraordinarily well. He also creates a tremendous southern-New Orleans accent and isn't over the top at all. If you haven't taken him seriously as an actor as of yet, as a result of not seeing AOJJ or Babel, then you will finally realize that he is one of our finest actors in cinema. Cate Blanchett develops her character just as well, if not better, and is currently the best actress I've seen all year. Both of them have tremendous chemistry together which help to make the love story to this epic tale that much more touching.
The visuals to this feature are stunning. Whether it's the submarine scenes, the view of Paris, the lake, or the city itself, Fincher uses his usual lighting as well as brilliant cinematography to create unbelievable scenes. Some say that the film is too visual, while I disagree. Fincher stays close to the characters and story at hand and throws in a beautiful scene every know and then, but it never takes away from the story in my opinion. Fincher's camera work is top-notch and it's extremely well-crafted despite being an ambitious and epic film. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button never drags and goes by in a flash despite the 3 hour running time. In fact, I didn't want this film to end. Alexandre Desplat's memorable score is touching and unforgettable. It helps to create a happy, sad, angry, or depressing mood for the film and is beautifully composed. The costumes, make-up, and set designs are some of the very best of the year and I expect this feature to take home Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Visual Affects, Costume Design, and Make-Up, at the very least, come Oscar season. Overall, this is a historic cinematic feature that is well-crafted and a beautiful film about life. This is a magical and miracle movie and one that is unforgettable.