a Faberge egg masterpiece of epic genius

Rating: 10/10 (21 December 2008)

Eric Roth has hit another one waaay out of the ballpark with his brilliantly *loose* screenplay adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald's original short story.
Be prepared for a nearly three hour excursion into magical realism (with spectacularly seamless character effects), where time will fly as Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) ages in "reverse."
The spirit and intent of the somewhat pedestrian FSF short story have been completely and lovingly transformed into a highly nuanced, cinematic Faberge egg masterpiece of epic genius.
Substituting New Orleans for Baltimore permits the hurricane (that is ever looming) to be *Katrina* (with the washing away of all traces that might come to imply). Subtracting father Button (who figures so prominently in FSF's short) for most of the story also works to heightened effect.
The story inventions of Caroline, Mr Gateau and his train station clock, Queenie ("'Nevah know what's comin' fer ya"), Mr Daws (Lightning Man), Daisy (and, implicit in that, a nod to Fitzgerald's Gatsby), Mr Oti, Capt Mike, hummingbirds and Elizabeth Abbott are all pure Roth, with nary a gleam in Fitzgerald's eye.
Some of these embellishments might be dismissed as paint-by-numbers analogs lifted from Gump (which was also adapted from a lesser original source for the screen by our Good Scribe Roth), but I think most people will neither be offended, nor care. If you've payed attention, you know that none of these are Gump. tCCoBB is full of heart and laden with delicate symbolism. It stands fresh, with new revelations, even on a second viewing. If anything, tCCoBB is a more mature and polished work than Gump.
The juxtapositions of time and point-of-view allow the story to steep in the best of two worlds -- Daisy's loving, yet unsentimental, *remembrance*, via Caroline's reading of BB's "last will and testament," on Daisy's deathbed, and the vicarious thrill of being a fellow traveller on BB's actual journey. Of course, an attentive audience figures out, well before Caroline does, what her relationship to BB is; but how can one not ache to see how she will come to take it, given that BB is now long gone?
While there are many moments of pathos in this story, the film is ultimately inspirational and uplifting.
David Fincher's directorial vision brings forth pitch perfect performances from the entire cast.
Brad Pitt exceeded my every expectation. Not only is this his best work to date, it clearly establishes that he has developed acting chops that eclipse his long running reputation for good looks. Rather than deliver a "star turn," Pitt confidently and subtly inhabits Benjamin Button in a way that no other actor could.
In addition to Pitt, the notable standouts (not by any ranking) are Henson, Harris, Blanchett (along with the two younger Daisy's) and Swinton. I find no fault with any of the other players (including the variously sized/aged Benjamin body doubles) that I fail to mention by name here.
It absolutely *requires* a cutting-edge-tech savvy director like Fincher to juggle all of the elements of characters, locations, sets, plot/sequence/pacing *and* workhorse digital GG/VFX and make all of that *craft* disappear into a seemingly effortless work of art.
It all looks, sounds and feels so organic. (The score is terrific, too.)
It is important to add that I attended the advance screening solely on the basis of the astonishing cinematography, as glimpsed in the television trailers. Every frame in this nearly 100% digital shoot was composed and captured as if it were a painting, with all of the warmth and subtlety of an old school film shoot.
There will be many award nominations for this film in all categories. People should be advised that the "make-up" is almost entirely state-of-the-art CG/VFX (digital facial mapping, combined with digital "make-up" effects, in some cases, grafted onto body doubles) that are as technically unobtrusive as (but vastly more elaborate than) all of the VFX that were in the English Patient (and Gump). (There will also be moments when some will wonder if one other Hollywood icon in particular, RR, made a cameo appearance.)
This is easily the best film of the year (and that is said as much as I *love* Slumdog Millionaire).
If you somehow manage to miss this film in the theater, you will have denied yourself the cinematic gift of the year.
I can hardly believe that this is a "major studio" film.
Bravo!!!