Behind The Films

This was originally posted on my blog.

As a fan of most everyone invloved I really expected to like this film. I am quite happy to say that I was in no way disappointed my expectations were surpassed on every level.

In his own words Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) states “I was born under unusual circumstances while everybody else was aging, I was getting younger all alone…” , born not as an infant but as an old man, not expected live long the boy (who looks to be about 90) is left on the steps of an old age home where he is discovered by one of the employes, Queenie (Taraji Henson). Benjamin grows into his old and decrepit body gaining maturity as he does so, playing with soldiers, listening to stories and longing to play with the children he sees unfortunately he is still confined to a wheel chair.

Benjamin first encounters Daisy when she is about six or seven years old- mentally he is the roughly the same age as her but physically he is somewhere in his 80’s. As Daisy (Cate Blanchett) gets older and Benjamin gets younger there relationship grows stronger. However even when the two are about the same age (somewhere around 1970) and the relationship is strongest, there is still an underlying tension; Benjamin will get younger and Daisy will grow older the relationship can not last. Benjamin tells Daisy when she’s pregnant that she should find a real father for the child because she can’t look after both him (as he gets younger) and the baby.

Things come and go, as we travel through life physically nothing will stay the same. Benjamin grows younger knowing someday he will become an infant unable to care for himself, while Daisy grows older knowing that someday she will not be able to care for herself. However despite there physical infirmities the couple still love and care for each other until the very end.

The storytelling displayed is top notch, and the filmmaking epic. Apparently the screen play floated around for about 15 or 16 years before finally going into production and it’s quite easy to see why, the technical challenge of making an infant look as if he were 90 then aging backwards must have been enormous however the final product is flawless. It does not look CG, rubbery or unnatural in any way; if there was a baby born into a 90 year old’s body I suspect he would look very much like Benjamin did in this film.

I often find myself carefully scrutinizing shot composition, cinematography and other technical elements however I was so completely engrossed in the story it’s hard to accurately judge the film on a technical level. But from what I observed; technically, the film is a masterpiece as well. This is a serious Oscar contender.

‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ is a magical and moving film which depicts life’s challenges and triumphs told through the eyes of a man who is traveling the same path as everybody else, just in the opposite direction.

Written by Eric Roth, and Directed by David Fincher ‘The Curious Case of Bejamin Button’ also stars Jason Flemyng, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali, and Tilda Swinton.

Rating:

Source:TravisFantina.com