The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Review
Monday, January 19th, 2009 | Movies
Tags: benjamin button, Movies, review
There is one obvious similarity between The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Forrest Gump, and that is both movies tell stories about a man’s life. Other than this, Benjamin Button is nothing like Tom Hanks’ Forrest Gump. In Benjamin Button, the central theme of the movie is vague. You can list many topics the movie touched on in a time span of almost 3 hours, but you can never pinpoint one single theme that stands out and the movie intends to focus on. Maybe because of this lack of focus, some people consider Benjamin Button as a long and boring ramble of a fantasy-like character, and instead prefer to spend the 3-hours surfing on, maybe Facebook. However, personally I find the movie a successful attempt in portraying the lifetime of any real human being. If you think about it, does one’s life focus on one single theme, or is one’s life a collage of various human experience of love, hate, fear of death, forgiveness, etc?
Admittedly, Benjamin Button is an extraordinary individual, a person who ages reversely, but this does not make him any less real or hard to relate to. His loneliness in his unusual childhood, his early encounters with death, his love and his heartache, I am sure they echo in many viewers’ heart.
Visually, Benjamin Button is a beautiful movie. The motorcycle ride on the narrow road alongside the vast field, the majestic sunrise at the ocean pier, and the misty morning fog on the tugboat, you are reminded time after time to pay a bit more attention of our surroundings as we walk through the path of life, because these scenery make us to contemplate about life.
In my opinion, Cate Blanchett had a better performance than Brad Pitt. In some scenes, Brad Pitt seemed too dull and apathetic. I don’t know if he did on purpose, but his apathy definitely made some scenes lack of emotional outburst, everything seemed so suppressed and subtle, sometimes a bit unrealistic.
I have said a lot about this movie, but don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to defend it or to convince you to see it. After all, it depends on personal taste, but one thing for sure it does not appeal to everyone. You may be so touched that you shed tears at the end of the movie, others may yawn and complain that the movie drags too long. In my case, I walked out the theater thinking: No matter which direction your biological clock is ticking towards, we always loses in the battle with time, and when we reach the end of journey, it is those lasting moments and unforgettable people we met that make our life worth of living.
January 21, 2009
8:05 pm on Wednesday
I’ve always been a huge fan of Brad Pitt’s work, and of Brad Pitt in general though I’m growing more and more wary of him as a person. I still can’t wait to see this movie, though it looks like I might have to wait for it on DVD since everyone else has seen it by now. *sigh* Do you want to go with me? hehe
January 22, 2009
2:31 am on Thursday
Reggy, I am sure you will enjoy it when you have it on DVD. BTW, I would love to go to movie with you. I always enjoy watching movies with friends, too bad I am so far from you. Maybe someday, I will move to a place closer to you. One never knows, life is so unpredictable!
January 21, 2009
9:50 pm on Wednesday
Best film I’ve watched in awhile. I’ll go with you reg. ;) Sure your man wont get mad??
January 21, 2009
11:47 pm on Wednesday
I liked the points you made in your review, about how life can’t be condensed into a single theme, and how time always wins no matter how you age…I liked the movie, but it’s funny, I was also expecting it to be like Forrest Gump and turns out Benjamin Button is totally different. I think for me, Forrest Gump was a lot more successful, but maybe that’s not fair to compare the two as they tell such different stories. But both of them have this legendary, mythic feel, and I just think Gump pulls that aspect off better. Button though is very poetic, meditative, and allegorical. The atmosphere and lingering sadness of the movie stays with you…But haha, I actually liked Brad Pitt’s performace more than Cate Blanchet, probably because her earlier years and old age (in death bed) felt kind of exaggerated and unnatural. Brad Pitt’s performance I found subtle yet moving.
January 22, 2009
2:28 am on Thursday
I agree with on Brad Pitt being subtle, and I think it works out pretty well for the majority part of the movie. However, in some scenes the acting is just too unrealistic. For instance when he left Daisy and his daughter, he seemed so calm and so void of emotion. I would expect at least some tears running down his face.
Personally, I also like Forrest Gump more thank Benjamin Button, maybe because Forrest Gump was the first movie with such format, and also he is just a regular person like you and me; whereas Benjamin Button is someone who will never exist in real life.
January 21, 2009
11:49 pm on Wednesday
But I know what you mean about some scenes lacking emotion. Like the scene where Button’s mother died, how Button didn’t even seem that sad, like he was going to an acquaintance’s funeral.
May 27, 2010
10:40 pm on Thursday
love the film. Cate and Brad together have a real connection and chemistry, seems like they are relaxed with each other, where they dont have to try hard to make things work well.