Movie Rec: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Thursday, January 1st, 2009 06:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
retsukoSure enough, if I had seen this just a day ago, it would have made it onto my "Best" list on my Year in Review entry. However, this is the day I ended up seeing it, and as long as I'm obeying arbitrary calendar rules, it's the first good movie I've seen this year.
I almost don't know where to start with this because there's so much on my mind. So I'll just pick a random point and go from there:
About halfway through the plot, it becomes obvious that if Benjamin and Daisy are going to have a baby, he will keep getting younger and younger as the baby matures. And after they have the baby, he leaves. I couldn't get my mind around this idea, entirely, because it felt so counter-intuitive to everything that had gone before it and I had no clue how I would even begin to approach this issue if I were in his or Daisy's shoes. And I had a sneaking suspicion about the plot going somewhere that would have him dying before he fully turned into a child again. But then the plot didn't go where I was thinking it would, and then suddenly, holy crap, he's 8 years old (and not Brad Pitt anymore!), and suffering from dementia, and that's when I understood his decision to leave her. (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
yebisu9 speculated that the dementia was due to his brain simply not being able to handle his life experience anymore, and I'm inclined to agree.) Watching her hold her now-newborn-baby husband in her arms as he finally dies was... words fail me. It felt larger than the movie theater, larger than your average film, sad and heavy and aching and human.
But there was so much joy in this movie, too, things about life and people that were well and truthfully observed. Benjamin's father, masterfully played by Jason Flemyng, was a man who ghosted in and out of the story, clumsily trying to make up for a life-altering mistake, and I was amused how the other characters in the story played out his son's inner conflict; some were angry on Benjamin's behalf, and others obviously felt it was more important to let bygones be bygones. And in the end, Benjamin's forgiveness leads to one of the most lovely scenes in the film when he helps his dying father out to see the sunrise over Lake Ponchetrain. And then there's the amazing acting from Tilda Swinton, and the wonderful postscript that her character gets (which is one thing I don't actually want to spoil, because it made so incredibly happy for her). And there is also gorgeous cinematography, and a beautifully unobtrusive score.
And Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are smashing. I keep forgetting that Brad Pitt is not just a pretty face and can actually act, and his performance in this film is quiet and understated, but perfect for a character who spent his formative years in a retirement home. Cate Blanchett is already on my list of actresses who I could happily watch sort socks, and she's fantastic in this role, particularly towards the ending of story, when it's clear that her character is trying hard not to fall apart at the seams. The chemistry the two of them share transcends the oddness of their relationship and renders their love for each other believable and tragic.
But, still, the questions linger: if I knew the man I loved was going to get younger and younger and eventually die as a baby, would I ask him to stay to be a father to his child? Would I tell my child the truth about her father, or lie to her and recant on my deathbed? Would I be able to watch the love of my life transform into something that he should not have been, at least the way reality works for me? Too many questions! And the movie offers one set of answers that may or may not work for me. It's quite a conundrum, but a highly satisfying one.
Tl;dr, or "didn't want spoilers" version: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, and Tilda Swinton are fantastic, as are many minor characters in the film. The makeup is at times freakily perfect and/or mindboggling. This movie should definitely be seen on the big screen for the sheer spectacle of many scenes and is well worth the full ticket price. I did not expect to be so emotionally effected by the story, but I was. Highly recommended, and with "Oscar" written all over it. All in all, I'm glad I went and saw this movie, despite the emotional punch it ended up packing.
I almost don't know where to start with this because there's so much on my mind. So I'll just pick a random point and go from there:
About halfway through the plot, it becomes obvious that if Benjamin and Daisy are going to have a baby, he will keep getting younger and younger as the baby matures. And after they have the baby, he leaves. I couldn't get my mind around this idea, entirely, because it felt so counter-intuitive to everything that had gone before it and I had no clue how I would even begin to approach this issue if I were in his or Daisy's shoes. And I had a sneaking suspicion about the plot going somewhere that would have him dying before he fully turned into a child again. But then the plot didn't go where I was thinking it would, and then suddenly, holy crap, he's 8 years old (and not Brad Pitt anymore!), and suffering from dementia, and that's when I understood his decision to leave her. (
yebisu9 speculated that the dementia was due to his brain simply not being able to handle his life experience anymore, and I'm inclined to agree.) Watching her hold her now-newborn-baby husband in her arms as he finally dies was... words fail me. It felt larger than the movie theater, larger than your average film, sad and heavy and aching and human.But there was so much joy in this movie, too, things about life and people that were well and truthfully observed. Benjamin's father, masterfully played by Jason Flemyng, was a man who ghosted in and out of the story, clumsily trying to make up for a life-altering mistake, and I was amused how the other characters in the story played out his son's inner conflict; some were angry on Benjamin's behalf, and others obviously felt it was more important to let bygones be bygones. And in the end, Benjamin's forgiveness leads to one of the most lovely scenes in the film when he helps his dying father out to see the sunrise over Lake Ponchetrain. And then there's the amazing acting from Tilda Swinton, and the wonderful postscript that her character gets (which is one thing I don't actually want to spoil, because it made so incredibly happy for her). And there is also gorgeous cinematography, and a beautifully unobtrusive score.
And Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are smashing. I keep forgetting that Brad Pitt is not just a pretty face and can actually act, and his performance in this film is quiet and understated, but perfect for a character who spent his formative years in a retirement home. Cate Blanchett is already on my list of actresses who I could happily watch sort socks, and she's fantastic in this role, particularly towards the ending of story, when it's clear that her character is trying hard not to fall apart at the seams. The chemistry the two of them share transcends the oddness of their relationship and renders their love for each other believable and tragic.
But, still, the questions linger: if I knew the man I loved was going to get younger and younger and eventually die as a baby, would I ask him to stay to be a father to his child? Would I tell my child the truth about her father, or lie to her and recant on my deathbed? Would I be able to watch the love of my life transform into something that he should not have been, at least the way reality works for me? Too many questions! And the movie offers one set of answers that may or may not work for me. It's quite a conundrum, but a highly satisfying one.
Tl;dr, or "didn't want spoilers" version: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, and Tilda Swinton are fantastic, as are many minor characters in the film. The makeup is at times freakily perfect and/or mindboggling. This movie should definitely be seen on the big screen for the sheer spectacle of many scenes and is well worth the full ticket price. I did not expect to be so emotionally effected by the story, but I was. Highly recommended, and with "Oscar" written all over it. All in all, I'm glad I went and saw this movie, despite the emotional punch it ended up packing.
