For me, this movie had everything going for it when I first read about it. David Fincher directed it (he also directed Fight Club, Seven, and The Game to name my favorites by him.) It starred Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, who are two of the best actors working today and who always seem to choose daring and intriguing roles. But, being slightly cynical and constantly disappointed on many trips to the local cineplex, I’ve learned not to get my hopes up. Still, each trailer and commercial that I saw made me want to see this movie more and more. Well, dear readers, I’m happy to report that my fears were alleviated and I can easily say that this was one of the best films of the year.
The film follows Benjamin (Pitt) as he lives his life while aging in reverse. In a strange way, this film reminded me of Forrest Gump, except without all the cheekiness and winking at the audience which frankly made this film more enjoyable. It’s not that I don’t like Forrest Gump, it’s a great movie, but after repeated viewings, it starts getting a little hammy. But I digress; as Benjamin lives his life, he fights in the second world war, witnesses the first rocket blasting into space, and watches the Beatles appear on Ed Sullivan, amongst other things. At least he didn’t inadvertently show Henry Ford how to build the Model T because I would’ve checked out at that point or at the very least given that scene a dismissive wanking motion.
This is a long movie, coming in at just under three hours, but it didn’t bother me in the slightest as I was watching it. I attribute most of that to the director, David Fincher. The man just knows how to craft a movie. Each scene was visually arresting and it felt like the cinematography was another star in the film. This really wasn’t a surprise either, as he’s been making stunningly gorgeous movies for several years now. His work in Seven inspired many carbon copy thrillers that really had no chance of being anywhere near as good as the source material. Go back and watch it, it stands the test of time and then some. Fincher’s name is synonymous excellent filmmaking, it’s as simple as that. The other factor I attribute to this film working as well as it did is Brad Pitt. I was having a discussion with a good friend of mine and I said that when Brad Pitt first started gaining stardom after Interview with the Vampire, I wanted to dislike him because everyone was fawning over him as the next big movie star. But then he went and starred in Seven, Twelve Monkeys, Sleepers, Fight Club, and Snatch to name a few. By that point, it was clear the man knew how to pick a script and each performance was better than the last. This movie is no exception and he delivers a stellar performance with effortless grace. To state the obvious, the film would not have worked if you didn’t believe he was Benjamin Button in every scene. Of course, he had some help with that in the form of phenomenal visual F/X. There wasn’t a single moment in the film that I thought, “oh come on, you can totally tell they used computers to make him look like that!” And on a personal note, I fell in love with Cate Blanchett in this movie. She was heart-breakingly beautiful as Daisy, Benjamin’s love interest.
So in case you couldn’t tell by my effusive remarks above, I thoroughly enjoyed this film and it hit me in the heart. I definitely plan on adding this to my DVD collection.
Captain Cinema Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.
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