The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
I watched Benjamin Button last week. In fact, I watched it twice.
The first time I saw it, I thought it was a 5/5 rated movie but I don’t like to be sure with my “5″ ratings so I had to watch it again to be sure.
My main hesitation with giving it a 5 is that this was nearly the same exact story as Forrest Gump. They were both written by Eric Roth so at least he was ripping off himself which isn’t quite as bad as ripping off someone else. If you don’t believe me, watch these two movies back to back and you’ll see. The slightly crazy sea captain mentor, the childhood girlfriend that needs to sow her wild oats before returning to the hero, the war aspect, growing up in a hotel / senior community, the story told in flash back, etc…
However, here is what was good about it. This movie was executed to perfection. David Fincher, who has made a career of music videos and frenetic films like Se7en, Alien3, and Fight Club does something very gentle and beautiful here. In contrast to the popular style of shaking the camera, the picture is always gliding smoothly and gently swaying here like an older era of film making. The cinematography rises to the level of art.
The score is also beautiful, the piano echoes in a melancholy way that is perfect for the film. I might have to buy the soundtrack…
Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are two of the most handsome actors out there so it is easy to watch them do their thing for a long film. Some people are simply a joy to see on screen and those two are definitely in that category.
The effects are so good that they cease to even matter. Even though I had read about how a computer generated version of Brad Pitt’s head was rendered on another actor’s body, I didn’t care after about 2 minutes of the film. Amazingly well executed.
Even though it wasn’t original, I found myself moved by the story of forgiveness, self realization, and finding the best in all situations. So I give the movie a 5, because I enjoyed it that much and to prove to myself that execution is more important than originality.
5/5
Tags: brad pitt, cate blanchett, cinematography, david fincher, eric roth, score, story
“The 3D timelines look absolutely stunning”
A very nice review, Adam. This is the first review of this film which has inspired me to rent it. Your phrase “story of forgiveness, self realization, and finding the best in all situations” resonated with me — this is just what I want from a film.
As an aside, I took my young sons to see How To Tame A Dragon recently and thought that was fab: the young hero goes through a great transformation during the course of the film.