Forrest Button

Rating: 4/10 (14 December 2008)

Haven't we all been drooling for Old Man Brad for what seems like ages now? And who can blame us....
The allure of the combined writing talents of Eric Roth and Robin Swicord - the first-time-coupling of two power-broker talents with films like The Good Shepherd, Munich, Memoirs Of A Geisha and Little Women to their individual credits; the third collaboration between star Brad Pitt and director David Fincher (remember Se7en? How about Fight Club? Ask any male born after 1985 about those films influence...); Pitt and Cate Blanchett together again after Babel; Tilda Swinton's third in a row after Michael Clayton and Burn After Reading; the best trailer of the year.
Just how much did the Brad Pitt vehicle "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button" intrigue me? I saw it three days ago at an Australian screening and it's just about to click over 2.00am the following Monday. There's lots to mull over....
That's the good news.
The downside is that after 165 minutes of film and 72 hours of contemplation, I've time-travel led. Its not the much-anticipated peek at "...Benjaman Button", December 2008 that I'm reliving; it's 1994 and I'm at the Greater Union Parramatta cinema for an 11.00am session in mid-1994, and I've just watched "Forrest Gump".
As much as I want to (and I desperately want to, though my respect for the 'spoiler warning' dictates), I am not going to repeat the 90 minute conversation that consumed the drive home from the screening. Over that 90 minutes, my partner and I indulged in "Forrest Button" - a sometimes hilarious, sometimes sarcastic yet, ultimately, blindingly-obvious game that involved matching the plot/characters/themes/minutiae of the Tom Hanks Oscar-winner from 18 years ago with one of the five the most-anticipated films of this year.
And it's long. Throat-tighteningly; bum-numbingly; shoulder-stiffeningly long.
At this point, I can't stress enough that the "Forrest / Button" comparisons are not all negative. Like the film that bumped Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption and Quiz Show at the '95 Oscars (not to mention the un-nominated Ed Wood, The Madness Of King George and Three Colours:Blue - jeez, who was in charge there...?), The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button has much to recommend and admire. It's a shoo-in for major nominations at most award ceremonies for technical achievements like cinematography, special effects, set and costume design. No complaints in any of those departments - it is an exquisite, beautifully, even lovingly-rendered visual journey.
But the tragi-whimsical story that the lead character must endure - that is, aging from a newborn old man to a mentally-dwindling, decrepit baby - offers a premise of far more promise than it ever fully delivers.
And its long. Drink-replenishlingly; babysitter-communicatingly; parking fee-multiplyingly long.
Variety's editor-in-chief Peter Bart wrote a recent piece commending that, in a time of fiscal barrenness in an industry financed by corporate stakeholders, its admirable to see idiosyncratic yet wildly expensive films like Baz Luhrmann's Australia and Fincher's ...Benjamin Button get the support of assorted CEO's, CFO's and COO's.
But despite at first appearing edgy and fresh, both films are knock-offs. At least I respect Luhrmann for acknowledging his influences on screen - Wizard Of Oz, Gone With The Wind, The African Queen and God knows what else.
But ...Benjamin Button is a con. Seen it all before....
I'll return to this post in more detail, after more have seen the film and the discussion want spoil anyones potential enjoyment.
But be warned. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button is like a box of chocolates - beautifully packaged, but a mixture of flavours that wont please everyone, nearly impossible to finish in one sitting and full of fat.