Sierra Mountain Times

Unusual Circumstances

Brad Pitt stars in the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Rated PG-13) 167 mins

After a great deal of build-up over the past few months The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was finally lavished upon us this past Christmas day. Hailed as “stunning” and “visionary,” we critics who are not invited to early screenings could not wait to catch our first glimpse. Turns out that curious the movie is indeed.

For starters, there is little mystery to this film. Anyone who has seen the preview pretty much knows that they are going to see a movie about a man who aged backwards through life. Trailer shots even showed the young-old Benjamin (Brad Pitt) and the old-young Benjamin frequently, erasing any wonderment over how such a man might look as he grows. So it is fitting that the film is driven by the curiosity that its title speaks of: curiosity over what exactly the life of such a backwards being would be like. And that is precisely what Benjamin Button is all about, a man’s –  albeit an extraordinary man’s – life. That’s it, and that’s all.

However this is no Forrest Gump. Benjamin Button takes itself much more seriously than the beloved 1994 Best Picture winner, so despite his extraordinary physical prowess Benjamin actually lives a simpler life than Mr. Gump. Born with the look and ailments of an average 80-year-old man, Benjamin is abandoned by his father and instead raised by Queenie (Taraji P. Henson), the black caretaker of a New Orleans old-age home. A better fit it could not be. Surrounded by the elderly (of whom half suffer from dementia) Benjamin is taken in as one of them and his “curious case” is never addressed. It also doesn’t hurt that most of the residents pass on before they ever notice his innate ability to grow younger as he ages. It is this odd upbringing for an odd person that is the best part of the film. For everyone who encounters Benjamin assumes his age is based upon his countenance, and so his adolescent naivete is hilariously confusing to them.

Unfortunately the film grows duller as it progresses. For after growing into a man Benjamin begins his romance with his childhood sweetheart Rosie (Cate Blanchett), and there are surprisingly few fireworks. Blanchett gives it her all as the adoring mate who struggles with the knowledge that her man only gets younger and fresher as her youth fades away, but Pitt seems to grow bored with the role the younger he gets. At his best Pitt brings life to Benjamin as the aged young man and he displays some of his finest work as an actor, and at his worst we see Pitt go through the motions as the older-younger Button. As a result the second half of Button relies on Blanchett to carry it to the finish, and she appears more than willing.

There are plenty of gems to take out of Benjamin Button; Benjamin’s first experiences as a “man;” Benjamin’s love affair with a British aristocrat in Russia (Tilda Swinton) that contains more charm than his whole relationship with Rosie; an opening story about a blind man and a backwards clock that is magical; a World War II scene at sea which is truly gripping; and phenomenal acting and direction throughout. Helmed by the usually dark David Fincher (Fight Club, Seven, Zodiac), Button pays close attention to detail while straying from the silliness of a movie like Forrest Gump, which it easily could have become. Fincher has always proven to be a masterful director, but Button is a new kind of project for him, and it shows when the movie strays from the strangeness of Benjamin’s ailment and focuses on the love story, which is the basis for the second half of the film. Fincher is a stranger to love stories to this point, and his lack of experience comes through in the movie. If Button had carried the momentum of its first half throughout, it would have been the best of the year. Other than The Dark Knight, I cannot think of a movie this year, which was as intriguing and captivating in its first half as Button.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t last.

Still, with great critical acclaim behind it and the buzz it is generating, look for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to poke its head around again come Oscar time. Mr. Button has just enough to make his mark on hearts and minds for a long time to come. However this year, there is more deserving fare.

SCORE: 4/5.