Film

'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button': A Cinematic Masterpiece

By Marcos Bernal-Salas

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

If we could only know at the moment we are born the answers to the questions: What is life all about? How can anyone live it to the fullest without regret? Then everyone’s life will be much happier and blissful. And it’s no wonder that F. Scott Fitzgerald began writing a short story in the 1920’s inspired from a quote from Mark Twain; “Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of 80 and gradually approach 18.” So it seems fitting such an inspiration is now the most anticipated movie of the year. ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ is a classic masterpiece combining magic and wonder onto the screen.

Director David Fincher, ‘Se7en’, ‘The Game’ and ‘Fight Club’, has outdone himself capturing the essence of life, love and everything in between with amazing finesse. The story unfolds slowly – not to confuse that with a slow-paced momentum – in order to build all the characters in the story and around Benjamin. Although he is the main character in the story, at first is about the people he comes in contact with. To understand it all: in the film Benjamin is born old – diagnosed as a baby born with diseases and the appearance of an 80-year-old person. He is abandoned at the local elderly home by his father in reaction to such a strange birth. However, Benjamin is taken and accepted by the elders at the home who seem nothing out of the ordinary in him; as one character puts it he was just dealt a bad hand. Queenie, wonderfully performed by Taraji P. Henson (‘Hustle & Flow’), becomes Benjamin’s adoptive mother whose love and candor – with a dose of sharp wit and spirit – build his loving and compassionate outlook for life.

As Benjamin ages backwards he enjoys the strange and unique concepts about life from the many elderly characters around him, the love, the acceptance between life and death – that although fickle just like love it exist to create a balance in life. The lesson learned is that life is full of surprises; and that alone takes Benjamin to explore it without regrets and with a sense of wonder. Fincher says it best; “Benjamin is like a cue ball and all the people he collides with leave marks on him.” One of them is Elizabeth Abbott (Tilda Swinton) whom he meets at the far –flung Russian port town of Murmansk. Even though at first she comes across as the lonely wife of a diplomat her energy is an enticing presence in Benjamin’s life. Thus the exchange of life experiences between them seems not only fair but necessary in order for him to grow. After all Elizabeth Abbott is one of Benjamin’s real first loves.

And as much as the film is about life, love becomes the subplot here as well. In the film, Cate Blanchett’s character Daisy is Benjamin’s true love which he knows right away when they first meet as children. Unfortunately, their relationship doesn’t bloom until much later in life – or just when time is perfect – since they both go separate ways and live life differently. In the one hand Benjamin grows into adulthood with unique sense of understanding loss and the idea of not holding onto things. While Daisy’s life is the complete opposite; full of passion, art and the rich lifestyle of Paris and New York of the time. But Fincher and company do not dwell on this aspect of the story with a melodramatic tone – which is what makes the film such an incredible success. He paints an interesting part of Benjamin’s life portrait without clichés and platitudes that are often found in dramatic films.

Eric Roth’s script is simply flawless giving a strong sense of each and every character within; which ultimately every actor brings to a new height. Brad Pitt is a great actor – in this lifetime perhaps one of the greatest – whose performance in the film is undoubtedly the best I ever seen so far in his career. Blanchett is an amazing actress and truly a chameleon that can take on any character and make it her own with credible finesse. It is also worth mentioning that the rest of the cast is remarkable too, after all without all the other characters around the story and Benjamin the film will not be as impressive. Julia Ormond, Jason Flemyng, Elias Koteas, Tilda Swinton and Mahershalhashbaz Ali truly shine with their character portrayals. ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ also has another character that the audience will certainly pay attention to and that is the city of New Orleans. After all Benjamin is born there at the end of the World War I in 1918 and his upbringing and life take place in this magical city that – even still in these days – has the most interesting people and places just around every corner. The film is a very fitting love letter to the Big Easy.

‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ is a poetic masterpiece and the must-see film of the year. And even though the story is very much about life and death – and the tale of a not so ordinary man – the message is simple. One has to live through life to know what surprises will come up in its path. The ups and downs, life and death, love and heartaches of it all. And it’s only when one is much older, and perhaps wiser, that one understands what life is all about. An appropriate message for this holiday season.

Check out ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ Official Site