Curiouser and curiouser

Rating: 8/10 (6 September 2010)

This epic account of one man's journey backwards through life, beginning physically as a baby-sized octogenarian and ultimately succumbing to his demise as a confused infant, is so beautifully told and presented, well acted for the most part and superbly written that within the first 30 minutes of the film the audience will most likely have completely forgotten how ridiculous the premise of The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button truly is while simultaneously accepting it as the key theme to the film, upon which the entire story is based. In essence, it is wholly concerning the occurrence of a man being born old and growing younger as time progresses. It is utterly absurd. Nevertheless, the attempt to present this borderline "realm of fantasy" foundation as a straight-forward (though unavoidably quirky) and accurate account of love is very successful, and it is at times far more moving than one may expect. Benjamin Button was adapted from F. Scott Fitzgerald's more light-hearted (though not necessarily superior) short story by Eric Roth. One of the major criticisms of the film derives from this fact: not many people are truly surprised to learn that Roth also penned the cinematic adaptation of Forrest Gump some 15 years earlier. It is true that Benjamin Button follows the basis of Forrest Gump closely, in being an ambitious chronicled narrative of somewhat comedy- satire, somewhat tragedy that ultimately is driven by the pursuit of love by an outsider, one whose journey is defined by his endurance in life rather than his abilities. However, this significant variation is mostly acceptable considering the entertainment value this enjoyable and pleasing spectacle offers as a somewhat original achievement. One would be hard-pressed to find too many direct excerpts of dialog, character references or scenes in this film that are taken directly from Forrest Gump (the exceptions being Queenie, Benjamin's African-American adoptive mother, a very similar caricature of Mother Gump, and Benjamin unable to use his legs in early childhood, gaining said usage in an inspiring and memorable scene). Director David Fincher, famed for such grungy yet captivating films as Se7en and cult classic Fight Club (both starring Brad Pitt), reaches perhaps the highpoint of his audience-engaging career with Benjamin Button. While his earlier projects had the power to offer thrills and entertainment, they did so through the medium of stylized violence, caustic philosophy and unflinching realism. Button truly is Fincher's first attempt (and success) at intimacy with the viewer, meeting with them on a comfortable level that can be relished without recoil, pleasantly savored instead of shockingly unforgettable. The strongest directed scenes in the film are, as to be expected from Fincher, also the most thought-provoking, in which each and every event that contributed, no matter how slightly, to Daisy being hit by a car is revisited and contemplated, ranging to as small as a person tying their shoelace. It is then proposed, as these aspects are shown once more in real time, that if but one of these occurrences had taken slightly less or slightly more time to take place (or had not taken place at all), Daisy's accident would have been avoided. The viewer would try their best desperately not to blink during this incredible segment. In regard to performances, Cate Blanchett has a strong deliverance as Daisy Fuller throughout the varying stages of the character's life, from the appropriately cute, lovable, naturally impatient and confused Daisy at late-teens/early-twenties, to the mature and assertive (though subtly aware and frightened) Daisy at mid-thirties/forties. A notable newcomer to big-budget splendors is Taraji P. Henson, who is captivating and scene-stealing (in a good way) as the sassy, wise, no-nonsense Queenie.
Brad Pitt, as the eponymous protagonist, is a little less luminous. Most of his narration is somewhat monotonous and sometimes redundant in regard to the action on screen. Early on in the film his embodiment of an elderly, frail and optimistically confused youngster is very pleasant to watch, but with his transition into adulthood comes an equally significant shift from entertaining to not dull, but perhaps restrained (in a bad way). His words, written with such passionate feeling, are sometimes spoken without the vaguest indication of emotion and his character often becomes second to Daisy and her more deeply invested sense of adventure and enthusiasm for life. On the other hand, in the defense of such a charismatic performer, perhaps this discreet performance was intentional. Truly the audience will notice a difference in Brad Pitt, seeing a more adult and established side not present before in many of his previous roles (such as the boxing "Pikey" in Snatch or the comically insane animal rights advocator in Twelve Monkeys). So maybe this unevenness, so to speak, is Pitt's maturity coming through; well, that's definitely worth something at least. So, all-in-all, the occasional bland mediocrity and revisited ground present in Benjamin Button cannot detract from it's heart and intent as a deeply rewarding film of great substance that has been far too excessively criticized and for the wrong reasons, e.g. too much sentimentality (in a film about love; is that possible?). And, when this argument is raised in the film's name, the retort is a very common misconception amongst movie-goers: that Benjamin Button tarnishes the very name of love and destroys all that is sacred about it with its peculiar and unsatisfying take on romance. While this film may quite surely present love as a fragile sensation experienced in what can only be called a very unstable situation, does it not demonstrate all too well the triumphant nature of love and the power and strength that love possesses? The power that it can invoke in oneself. To love Benjamin Button was to love inevitability; to love him was to accept loving something that ultimately and unpredictably might not love you back. To love the unknown and yet, Daisy loved Benjamin with all her heart, until her dying day.