Movie Description
At once epic in scope and intimate in detail, David Fincher's THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is certainly the director's most emotional film to date (though FIGHT CLUB and SEVEN don't offer much in the way of competition). Loosely based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald story, this romantic drama tells the tale of Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt), born in 1918 in New Orleans as a baby with wrinkles, cataracts, and arthritis. Benjamin will age backwards, getting younger as he watches those around him growing older. Included in that group are his adoptive mother, Queenie (Taraji P. Henson), and Daisy (Cate Blanchett), the love of his life whom he meets when she is just a little girl and he is an old man. They age in reverse, but despite Benjamin's globe-trotting adventures, their lives repeatedly intersect.
The script from Oscar winner Eric Roth bears more than a few hallmarks in common with his earlier work on FORREST GUMP: both adaptations cross decades and continents. But BENJAMIN's script or even the fine acting aren't its most impressive accomplishment; the technology--both CGI and makeup--used to make Benjamin and Daisy age are remarkable, and makes the film entirely believable, but they're certainly aided by fine performances from both Pitt and Blanchett. The triumph of technology only serves to underscore the beauty of this film and of the love story at its heart.
Director David Fincher and Brad Pitt team up for a third time with this adaptation of a F. Scott Fitzgerald short story. Pitt plays a man who is born 80 years old, but instead of aging, he grows young. Oscar winner Cate Blanchett costars, along with Taraji P. Henson and Tilda Swinton.
| Credits | | Producer: | Cean Chaffin, Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy | | Cast: | Elias Koteas, Elle Fanning, Jason Flemyng, Julia Ormond, Tilda Swinton |
| Details | | Edition: | Checkpoint |
Editorial Reviews
3 stars out of 4 -- "The movie looks amazing....The technical wizardry sweeps you away....[Fincher's] astutely restrained direction fuses ferocity and feeling and creates a world you want to get lost in."
Rolling Stone - Peter Travers (01/08/2008)
3 stars out of 4 -- "Set in a visually stunning realm of heightened reality....BUTTON is never dull, and the conclusion is graceful and poignant."
USA Today - Claudia Puig (12/26/2008)
"[A] triumph of technique....Mr. Fincher has added a dimension of delicacy and grace to digital filmmaking."
New York Times - A. O. Scott (12/26/2008)
4 stars out of 4 -- "Pitt and Blanchett are outstanding. Fincher's meticulous attention to detail is unerring..."
Premiere - Jenni Miller (12/24/2008)
4 stars out of 5 -- "Pitt's performance is amazingly unadorned and natural..."
Box Office - Mark Keizer
"[A]n extravagantly ambitious movie....The movie has been in the works for years, pored over by Fincher like a favorite fairy tale from his childhood." -- Grade: A-
Entertainment Weekly - Lisa Schwarzbaum (01/01/2009)
5 stars out of 5 -- "That the trick never feels tricksy is partly down to Pitt's gentle, sympathetic performance....A film for the ages..."
Empire - Ian Freer (02/01/2009)
4 stars out of 5 -- "[A]n epic of rare scope and scale....Bold and brilliant..."
Total Film - Jamie Graham (02/01/2009)
"[A]n epic tale that contemplates the wonders of life -- of birth and death and, most of all, love....Superbly made and winningly acted by Brad Pitt in his most impressive outing to date..."
Hollywood Reporter - Kirk Honeycutt (11/24/2008)
Awards
2009Academy AwardsBest Art DirectionDonald Graham Burt, 2009Academy AwardsBest MakeupGreg Cannom, 2009Academy AwardsBest Visual Effects
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33i8Ciw~~_7.JPG "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (DVD, 2009, Checkpoint)")
33i8Ciw~~_32.JPG "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (DVD, 2009, Checkpoint)")
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