Monday, February 9, 2015

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Genre: Drama
Directed by: David Fincher
Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Hanson
Running time: 166 minutes



This romantic fantastical drama is a long movie, standing at close to three hours, and it took me a few late nights tries until I finally managed to make it through the whole thing, but was it ever worth it. This movie manages to be heart-warming in some places and heartbreaking in others.

The movie starts in 2005, with Daisy Fuller as an old woman, on her death-bed. She asks her daughter to read her the diary of her first love, Benjamin Button. We are then taken on a trip into the life of a man who was born with the appearance and illnesses of an old person. His mother died giving birth and his father abandoned him on the front steps of some nursing home in New Orleans. As he would grow up, he would grow younger, meaning that, during his life, he would always cross the path of people going in an opposite direction from his.

Brad Pitt, an actor who has been known for very uneven performances through his career, is very solid and believable in his different portrayals of Benjamin Button (at different ages and looks). He makes you feel for this man who can never find himself on an equal level with someone his own age. Cate Blanchett does some fine acting work also.

As for the director, David Fincher, he travels through the different period of this story in seamless fashion all the way through the 166 minutes of this movie. This kind of running time can be a little off-putting, but it is well worth the investment in time. There were a few places where it dragged a bit, but overall, a very good film that will stick on your mind for a while.


Rating: ««««

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