Monday, December 29, 2008

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Movie name: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Year of release: 2008
Director: David Fincher
Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Julia Ormond, Taraji P. Henson, Tilda Swinton, Elias Koteas, Jason Flemyng, Jared Harris, Elle Fanning
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Mystery
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 8

Synopsis:
David Fincher is without a doubt one of the most interesting and accomplished directors working these days. His films are always probes into the depths of the conflicts of men (within themselves most of the times). Following the superb "Zodiac", the new film from David Fincher is an adaptation of a F. Scott Fitzgerald short story. The film follows Benjamin Button, a man that ages inversely to everybody else - he is born with a body of an old man, and as time progresses he keeps getting younger. His family abandons him in a nursing home, where he is raised by Queenie. During his childhood he meets Daisy whom we realize is his soulmate. Though life takes them in different directions, they end up reuniting at a time in their lives when they are chronologically balanced. They experience bliss together, but time keeps ticking. The film is a very interesting meditation on the passing of life and the the real value of what you keep. The film is peerless, as is always the case in David Fincher's films, in the look and feel - the production design, photography, soundtrack are all beautiful. The performances are great, with a strong highlight for Brad Pitt, who finally shows what a good actor he can be. However, the jump that the story deserved, is never really reached, and mostly because the screenplay over simplifies everything. As it is, this is a beautiful cinematic experience, that doesn't achieve the heights it could mostly due to a contrived screenplay. Still a great film to see!

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