A Review of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I haven't been to the movies since I saw The Spirit a few weeks back. That movie was so bad that it kind of killed my desire to see anything else in the theater. Well, last night I finally put an end to my theater-going dry spout and saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with my friend Ellis. 

Honestly, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is one of those movies that I would usually steer clear of if it were not for the involvement of director David Fincher. It just seemed like it would be cliche, heart-string pulling, manipulative, Oscar bait in the hands of any other director. Sure, the whole story concept of a man aging in reverse is very fascinating but it really seemed like it could be a movie I would have no interest in if anyone else directed it.

Luckily, Fincher was behind this movie and it definitely showed. While I'm pretty sure that this is my least favorite effort from Fincher (next to Panic Room and the vastly underrated Alien 3), it's still a pretty good movie. I guess my biggest problem with it is that it just didn't feel like a David Fincher movie. Go look at previous efforts such as Seven, The Game, Fight Club, and Zodiac. Gone are the thriller aspects (although those were definitely going out the door in Zodiac), the overall darkness (I remember people used to joke that Fincher would someday film a movie completely in the dark while it was raining) and just that general Fincher feel. However, it is still evident that he was behind this movie. Every frame is perfectly constructed, the visuals are awesome to look at and the way he tells the story with his camera is masterful. The bottom line is that, although he is getting further and further away from the things that seemed to be his trademarks, Fincher is still a master filmmaker that is light-years away from most directors in terms of talent, skill and vision.

As far as the story for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button goes, I was surprised at how fascinated I was with it. The concept of a man aging in reverse is a very interesting one and to see it unfold through Fincher's lense is a pretty beautiful thing. I loved seeing Pitt's character deal with being a child trapped in an old man's body. This whole section of the film and seeing him slowly grow into himself was very engaging. Pitt's portrayal of Benjamin Button was very strong and I really liked the character as a whole. 

However, as the story continued on for the remaining three hours, I have to admit that I became slightly less engaged. I just found the first portion of Button's life much more fascinating than his later half. I think this all comes down to the love story presented. Now, I have to admit it- I'm a sucker for a good, solid love story. For a while, it appeared that the one in this movie was going to be that. The chemistry and friendship struck up between Daisy and Benjamin as they were children (well, as he was a child in an old man's body) was really genuine and kind of beautiful. However, I just didn't like the changes made to Daisy's character. She becomes this new age obsessed, cigarette-smoking, ballet-dancing hussy. And she's kind of a b*tch. 

Obviously, because of this, her and Benjamin's relationship becomes strained for many years before they eventually come together years later (or as they put it, "meet in the middle"). I know that this was an attempt to show how complicated love can be, how people can change and how time (and fate) can bring changes you would never even imagine. Still, I just couldn't completely buy the relationship because I just didn't care for Daisy all too much, especially due to the way she had treated Benjamin so far in the story. Even when they made up and she "changed," I still didn't like her that much. I felt that Benjamin's short-lived fling with Elizabeth (Tilda Swindon) had much more of a depth and genuine nature than his never-ending relationship with Daisy. I don't know, perhaps I'm just being too hard on her. Maybe it's just a personal preference on my part. Personally, I would have just kicked this chick to the curb. It's not worth all the B.S., Benjamin. It's not worth it, man.

Some of the other problems with the movie I had were with the present day sequences that are intercut with the rest of the film. They feature a very old Daisy dying in a hospital bed in New Orleans as her daughter reads Benjamin's diary to her. While all this is going on, Hurricane Katrina is raging on in the background. Why? Honestly, I really don't know. I feel like it was supposed to mean something but, for the life of me, I cannot tell you what. It's not like anything is done with Katrina- it is just there. It's a backdrop. It's not that I really mind it or that I'm offended by it (I heard murmurs around the crowd once it's name was announced via the TV in the hospital) but it bothers me that it didn't really serve any purpose. My other problem with this section of the movie is that the character of Daisy, even while dying, is annoying to me. I couldn't understand a thing she said and there was something she choose to reveal to her daughter via Benjamin's diary that I thought was kind of low. 

If you haven't figured out, I just didn't like this chick very much.

My very last problem with the film is with the ending. I didn't feel like it had the emotional impact that it obviously desired. I'm not sure if it was because the movie was beginning to wane from a long run time or something else but it just kind of lost me. A lot of the section dealing with Benjamin being an old man in a child's body kind of got to me but, by the time we got to the part where I was supposed to cry (I looked around and saw some of the women in the audience with tears running down their cheeks), I didn't feel anything. And the movie just kind of ends after a pointless vintage of Benjamin basically saying "In life, you meet a lot of different, interesting people." Really, Benjamin? I already knew that and I didn't really need you to say it to cap the film off. It just felt like he was stating the overly obvious.

After reading all of these complaints, you may think that I really didn't like this movie. That's not true. I really enjoyed watching it all unfold in front of me, no matter what problems I may have had with certain characters or the last half of the story. I can honestly say that I was never bored and I probably could have sat there for twenty more minutes if I had to. That's saying something considering I wasn't too keen on certain aspects of the story. The fact is that this is David Fincher's baby. The storytelling aspect of the film is old fashioned, feels very classical and I really just enjoyed watching it. It felt like I was having this epic story read to me as a child. I wouldn't really attribute this to the film's screenplay- I feel it was the way Fincher shot and cut the film together that really sent this feeling home. I really enjoyed the tone of the film and the occasional humor that was thrown my way. I thought the running joke with the vintage of the man being struck by lightning was pretty funny every time. I was afraid it was something that was going to be run into the ground but, for some reason or another, it kept working time and time again. I also thought the tiny section of the film in Paris dedicated to the concept of fate was really effective (I actually have a similar section written in the screenplay of my new movie... very strange).

Overall, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a pretty good movie. I had problems with certain story elements and characters but they were problems more of a personal nature. You all might be into Daisy and her relationship with Benjamin. I just wasn't feeling it all the way. Still, the film is well-shot, well-acted and very expertly constructed. The character of Benjamin Button and his predicament is very fascinating and it is entertaining to watch him go through life. It is very obvious that David Fincher is growing as a filmmaker. I don't think that this is his masterpiece (like most of us hoped it would be) by any means but it is a valiant effort. I just hope he's got this Oscar bait stuff out of his system so he can go and start making the movies we all love him for making again.

7/10