What would happen if a man aged in reverse? This is the question answered by David Fincher's movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
It is a grand sweeping movie with all the feel of watching the life of someone very extraordinary. The movie starts in modern day with a woman on her death bed. She is being read the diary of Benjamin Button. He is born just after the end of World War I. But he is different than other babies because he looks just like an old man. Complete with cataracts and arthritis. He is abandoned by his father and put in the care of a woman named Queenie, played very well by Taraji P. Henson. She decides to raise him as her own. Now as he grows over time he gets younger and younger. So for his entire childhood he has all the problems and appearance of an old man.
Eventually he meets a girl named Daisy and they form a friendship. Benjamin leaves his home to explore the world and eventually winds up in Russia where he meets a woman named Elizabeth played by recent Oscar winner Tilda Swinton. As you would expect eventually he finds his way back home and has a full on relationship with Daisy who is now played by the versatile Cate Blanchett. I don't want to go too much deeper into the plot and give anything away but rest assured it has a very satisfactory conclusion.
Now when it comes to the movie itself it is just stunning. From beginning to end it grabs you and you just want to watch the characters and see what happens to them. Of course there are some ups and downs and I'm sure there will be several moments where some people will need to pull out the tissues.
The movie is also superbly written. All of the dialogue flows and Benjamin talks with the wisdom of a man way beyond his years. Aside from that there are some amazing visuals in the movie. Fincher's previous movies like Panic Room and Fight Club weren't exactly know for beautiful scenery but this movie has it in abundence. Also the makeup work is some of the best I have seen in recent years. Transforming a young actor into an old man and making it look real must have taken a lot of effort. Also when he grows older it doesn't seem artificial and you are sucked in and believe he might be a man in his 60s or 70s.
The performance that steals the show is that of Benjamin played by Brad Pitt. He is surely worthy of an Oscar nomination. You just fall in love with his character from the beginning. The way he delivers his lines and interacts with people is so expertly done you'd swear he was one of Hollywood's veterans. I think this is easily the best performance of his career and he will be hard pressed in the future to top this.
I'm trying to think of something bad to say about this movie and I really can't. The acting is superb and the directing, camerawork and editing are all top notch. This movie in my mind is a hands down front runner for Best Picture.
My score: 10/10
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