A Beautiful Tale Courtesy of Mr. Fincher

Rating: 9/10 (3 January 2009)

WARNING: THIS REVIEW DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS.
At this point David Fincher has established himself as one of the most talented directors out there, with films such as Fight Club, Se7en and Zodiac earning him a great deal of respect from film critics and fans alike. An admirable part of Fincher's films is that they put more of a focus on the story and characters along with the narrative and cinematography revolving around them. This, along with various aspects to his other films has helped solidify him as an ideal inspiration for aspiring film makers. I recently got the opportunity to see his latest offering, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which I was very interested in seeing since I saw the first trailer. After sitting through this near three hour film I can safely say that this is my new favorite Fincher film.
Obviously what drew me to this film was the catch to the story: how the main character ages backwards. My interest in this wasn't so much to see Button's character go through a reverse aging, but more to see how things unfolded around him as he physically became younger. Thankfully for me, a lot happened during the film, whether it centered on Button or simply involved him. Given that the film has a fairly lengthy runtime, I was glad to see that there were a fair number of changes in the setting of the film.
This brings me to perhaps the most surprising aspect of the film for me. A film can very easily win me over with beautiful sceneries, and I also have a soft spot for movies that take place during the 50's or any period preceding that point. Since a good portion of the film takes place around the 40's to the 70's I was automatically engrossed. There were also points in the film when the scenery (the winter night outside when Button's having an affair with Elizabeth, the sunrise at the dock with his father and the ship passing his captain's tugboat to name a few), these were the parts that I felt I had left the theater and entered the film.
The story, which mostly centers around Button, is one of several stories that works well thanks to the narrative. Parts of the film are narrated by Button's daughter as they transition to Button's voice narrating. The film is told in flashback which doesn't necessarily hurt the film, but I would've preferred a little less emphasis on the present scenario. Brad Pitt, an actor who I've never been particularly fond of, manages to do well with what he's given. Cate Blanchett, an actress who I've held similar regards to managed to do about as solid as Pitt. This is to say I liked their characters in the film, but it didn't change my perspective on them, which is about as much of a compliment as I could likely give either of them.
I'd actually have to say the side characters seemed to have a stronger screen presence than Pitt and Blanchett. While this isn't a common aspect to most films, I do like it when the "next-in-line" characters get their fair share; it helps make the film feel better-rounded. The film is very character and narrative-driven, similar to movies like Forrest Gump and American Beauty. And like those films, Benjamin Button does an excellent job in both aspects, helping it unfold into a great story not so much for the events themselves, but what the characters themselves go through due to these occurrences.
One part I was very curious was to see how things would wrap up around Button and what would happen during his last moments. The last few minutes and thus, the actual ending to the film was the most powerful part of the movie for me. Just the thought of how Button forgot about his life and died as if just born was a very shattering scene for me to watch and as a result, this became one of the few films to actually bring tears to my eyes. Not remembering your life, not even a single part of your memory, is something that really got to me in this film.
Other than a slightly shaky narrative in brief parts and a couple moments that drag on, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button proves to be a very valiant and worthwhile viewing. If you're like me and you love films that have memorable settings and places the characters on center stage then you should have no trouble falling in love with this film. With the exception of The Dark Knight and possibly WALL-E, there aren't any other films released this year that I could put in the same league as this latest effort by Mr. Fincher.