REVIEW
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 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2009
Certificate: 12 | Runtime: 166 | Director: David Fincher
Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson
 
When Benjamin Button (Pitt) was born in 1918, there was something very special about him. The size of a normal baby, but with the appearance and medical complications of an elderly man – he was raised by care home owner Queenie (Henson) after she found him abandoned. But as the world aged, Benjamin grew younger in appearance with each passing day. Over time he would come to know Daisy (Blanchett), and the two would find their paths crossing many times as Benjamin lived his fascinating life.
I was thinking about calling The Curious Case of Benjamin Button a 'curious little film', but it would be both a very lazy pun on its title and a massive understatement of its length. And yet that's really what it is. Sometimes brilliant, occasionally frustrating, and yet almost consistently fascinating; it's the sort of film that is as rare as it is interesting. And, to kick things off, that starts with the special effects. The various methods by which Pitt is both made-up and computer-aided to look older are highly impressive, if not totally flawless. There are a couple of shots – particularly in the early stages of the film – that just look off. But it's impossible to deny the effort and vision that went in to bringing this character to life, from a technical point of view at least. The film was recorded with Oscars for both its make-up and visual effects.
On the acting front, it seems strange to say it but Pitt doesn't actually have a great deal to do. He keeps his Southern drawl nicely controlled, and there is an element of cheekiness to both Benjamin and the film in general that suits his personality well, but this isn't a performance which calls for much exertion. Therefore, while by his very circumstances Benjamin is interesting, he isn't from a connection point of view. He is the plot hub of his own life story, if you will, rather than the emotional core. Blanchett is better, nicely conveying Daisy's confusion, fascination and complicated romantic feelings. The only time she struggles is when – as the story is told by an elderly Daisy in flashbacks to her daughter Caroline (Julia Ormond) – playing the character in her old age. Her accent is too thick, and she overdoes the anguish on occasion. For her part, Ormond has something of a thankless role, but does well enough.
I think the best performance in the piece though is that of Henson. I was personally pleased when she received an Oscar nomination for her efforts, because Queenie could have so easily been just another supporting character. Instead, she's a memorable, charming and wonderfully comforting presence.
Other technical accomplishments include the vivid costumes – covering eight decades in itself is no small feat, let alone doing it so well. The set design is also meticulously detailed (and won the film's third Oscar), and the rich cinematography (Claudio Miranda) deserved its nomination. And Alexandre Desplat's score is more subtle and subdued than I was expecting, but it's still good.
All these things contribute – whether well or otherwise – to the journey that is Benjamin's life. And it's a journey that Fincher really wants us to savour. Indeed, during its best moments, the film is triumphantly absorbing and often compelling. But it does have sections that sag, and scenes that feel overindulgent. And if Benjamin wasn't quite so much of a bland chap in the personality stakes this wouldn't be too much of a problem. But because he is, it is. The final scenes also suffer the double ignominy of seeming both unnecessary and hurried. They deal with the final stages of Benjamin's life, when he resembles a young boy. And not only does the film rush through them, they add very little from an emotional angle, and our connection with Benjamin as a character is broken because it's no longer Pitt playing him.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is something of a flawed masterpiece. It is epic in scale, and certainly epic in intent. To go into all the little subplots and side characters would take me over a thousand more words. It's just that huge. And in general, this scale is welcome. The problem is that when the film hits a lull or goes through a mediocre patch, you are very aware of it being about the circumstances and not the man himself.© David Mercier
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