Best of Oscar, Part 5: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Written by Eric Roth, directed by David Fincher, and starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson and Jared Harris.

(Mild story spoilers follow.)

Benjamin Button is born into truly remarkable circumstances: his body’s internal clock is running backwards. Looking like an arthritis-ridden, old and crumpled baby when he is born on the final day of World War I, Benjamin gets increasingly younger through the years. Abandoned by his shocked biological father, Benjamin is raised by substitute parents at a retirement home instead, where Benjamin’s condition doesn’t easily reveal itself. It is here, at an early age, that Benjamin meets Daisy Fuller. We immediately hear destiny calling: the connection is instant, Benjamin’s and Daisy’s lives become intertwined, and as their paths keep crossing through the decades, the inevitable love affair develops. And of course Benjamin lives a truly extraordinary life. “Young in body, old in spirit” takes on a whole new meaning as we watch Benjamin Button go through the ages, see him reconnect with his estranged father, and, through Benjamin and Daisy, witness a unique split-screen perspective that explores the meaning of growing old.

If you’ve watched Forrest Gump you’ll know what to expect from the The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Eric Roth, who also penned the screenplay for Zemeckis’ 1995 Oscar winner, takes us on a similar journey as he follows Benjamin’s and Daisy’s lives through the decades. Benjamin travels the world on a tugboat, maturing into a younger person as he grows; Daisy becomes a world-class, globetrotting ballet dancer who has to cope with her own challenges that life throws her way. We visit Russia and Paris, get involved with World War II, and see America as it evolves through the 50s and 60s. Through all of this Benjamin feels like an incarnation of Forrest Gump: the outsider with a unique perspective on life, espousing wisdom that defies his age and that teaches us about the human condition. What does it mean to love, what does it mean to grow old? It’s an entertaining journey that sometimes reaches epic and tear-jerking proportions – especially if you watch the movie with a loved one.

Of course the real star of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button are the makeup work and the visual effects. Spanning over nine decades and featuring the impossible growth of an impossible character, Benjamin Button is a movie that couldn’t have been made a few years ago. The facial performance of the early Benjamin Button was created entirely in the computer, and the middle-aged Benjamin Button is “unaged” masterfully through makeup effects. Except for a few scenes towards the end of the movie, when an obviously different child actor was used to portray the character, Brad Pitt and his performance always shines through.

It’s debatable whether the “growing younger instead of older” mechanic is a unique angle or a stunt. The short story that this movie is based on was written in 1921, so it’s hard to fault Hollywood for being gimmicky. Brad Pitt’s age-defying antics certainly don’t call attention to themselves, they’re always treated as part of the story and are rarely flaunted.

Which leaves us with the one actual problem I had: the chemistry between Blanchett and Pitt isn’t quite there. Blanchett’s supposedly self-sufficient and spunky character often comes across as off-putting, and the love affair between Benjamin and Daisy isn’t quite as strong as one would hope for. Both actors put on great performances and their characters’ kinship through the decades works, but their personal connection didn’t quite register for me. It puts a small damper on a movie that is otherwise well acted and masterfully executed.

“Best Picture Nominee” Worthiness: 2/5. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a great movie. But Oscar worthy? Hardly; Forrest Gump already took those honors in 1995, and we don’t need a repeat win (or, dare I say, nomination!) when other movies like Wall•E and The Dark Knight got snubbed (and what about The Visitor?). The visual FX achievement bumps the movie up to a 2 star rating, though. The face replacements are generally seamless, the makeup is impeccable, and the effects never call attention to themselves. Very well done, and a great messenger of things to come. Watch this on DVD or Blu-ray, but don’t rush to the theater if you haven’t already seen this movie.

Read the series introduction
Part 1: The Reader
Part 2: Slumdog Millionaire
Part 3: Milk
Part 4: Frost/Nixon