Film: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Cast includes: Brad Pitt (Ocean’s 11, etc), Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age), Julia Ormond (Resistance), Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)
Genre: Drama, romance, fantasy
In brief: At the start of this fantasy, we see the unveiling of a beautiful clock made for the city of New Orleans that runs… backwards. The clock maker wanted to turn back time, so his son, killed in WWI, could come to life again. After that, we find ourselves at Daisy’s hospital bedside, as she attempts to tell her daughter the truth about her youth and about Benjamin Button… before it’s too late. A diary she’s squirreled away for years recounts the strange tale in Benjamin’s voice. “I was born under unusual circumstances.” In short, Benjamin Button ages backward, while all around him age the normal way.
Inspired by an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, the film attempts to take us through all the bizarre chapters in the youthing of Benjamin. By a stroke of luck, Benjamin’s early years were spent in an old-folks home, where he fits right in. Benjamin’s childish antics are accepted as rather normal old-age behavior. Beyond that point, the story starts to feel like a collection of short stories held together by nothing more than an unusual plot concept.
The highlight of the film is really the computer graphics, which is praised quite liberally in the press. If you’re someone who can be entertained for two and a half hours watching the miracles of computer imaging, you’ll enjoy this one. If you’re looking for a good story, you’ll probably be disappointed. There is no well-developed narrative spine. There’s a starting concept… aging backwards… and the whole plot hangs on that single idea. You can probably work out the drift of the story by watching the trailer.
2 popped kernels
Popped kernels for special effects. Unpopped kernels for being too long and too predictable.
