A Masterpiece; A Touching Metaphor Of Life

Rating: 9/10 (1 January 2009)

Benjamin Button is a "curious" film. Directed by David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club,Panic Room, Zodiac) it's a much different film from his regular suspense thrillers. It could be called epic. It could be called a fantasy film. I think above all, it's a film that presents life from a different point of view than we've ever see.
Benjamin Button is born at the close of the first wold war. After a tragic event involving his mother, his father immediately leaves him on the doorstep of an elderly home. He is immediately taken in by Queenie a kind, outspoken African-American. Throughout the rest of the film he has many hilarious and life altering experiences. None, however, are as important as the friendship he strikes up with Daisy, the granddaughter of one of the elderly. She immediately sees him not as strange but odd and peculiar. Many events transpire and throughout the film we constantly come back to their relationship which eventually transforms into a romance.
Button is one of, if not the, best film I've seen all year. David Fincher, working with a great script, does some top notch directing. The cinematography also makes the film something special. What also sets it above others are the remarkable special effects. The aging affects are particularly breathtaking.
Now, with all the praise on the technical side, there is plenty for the acting. Taraji P. Henson is excellent as Queenie. she's sassy and a perfect mother to the unusual Benjamin. Cate Blanchett is, once again, absolutely stunning. She commands the camera in her scenes. Her acting is brilliant and deserves an Oscar nomination, however, enough cannot be said of the man that carries the weight of the film, Brad Pitt. He is perfection as the quite, observer that is Benjamin Button. Despite the fact that he is very quiet throughout the film, he plays it so well.
Benjamin Button is a rare masterpiece. It has many themes about life and death. No matter how life starts or ends, you make who you are and it's about the things and events that matter to you that make your life special 10/10