The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (2008)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421715/
Director: David Fincher / Script: Eric Roth, Robin Swicord
Runtime: 166min
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Brad Pitt, Julia Ormond, Tilda Swinton, Jason Flemyng, Taraji Henson
Genre: Drama / Fantasy / Romance / Mystery
Tagline: Life isn't measured in minutes, but in moments.

A movie which delights its viewers with exceptional quality pictures and an original, magical and interesting story. The exceptional life-story of Benjamin Button is presented to us with the help of his diary which is being read by Caroline, the daughter, in the hospital where the old Daisy lies on her deathbed. Benjamin’s case is indeed curious: he starts aging backwards; born as old he keeps getting younger.

Early development of the movie began in 1994 (!).There are two narrators in the movie, the primary narrator being Benjamin Button himself, who is introduced by the old Daisy’s very authentic voice. The storyline is captivating and provides us with various characters. Romance, adventure, mystery mingle in the film. It deals with concepts such as mortality, the passing and the value of time, fate, loss and love. The idea of aging backwards is very original and is flawlessly executed. Benjamin Button’s experiences make his life exceptional. He meets Daisy, the love of his life, when she’s just a little girl and he’s an old man. But as they age in reverse and their lives continue to intersect, they actually meet halfway when they are compatible in age and they get from the initial affection to love. But the older Daisy gets, the younger is Benjamin, which leads to some complications. The art direction is stunning, also the make-up and the visual effects; no wonder the movie won Oscars for them. I was utterly surprised by how realistically were the war-action scenes filmed. It is as if you are there, the bullets coming towards you, water flowing overboard. The visuals and the make-up made miracles: I could hardly believe that the old Daisy, lying on her deathbed, was still embodied by Cate Blanchett. I was amazed by a scene presenting a strain of events which led to a meaningful event. Seemingly insignificant details show how all things are interconnected, and if only one thing happened differently, that event wouldn’t have occurred. But “Life being what it is, a series of intersecting lives and incidents out of anyone’s control”; people are in no position to interfere in their fate. And “Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss.” Just a few memorable lines. A source of fun was the case of the man struck seven times by lightning. The actors gave their best in the film. Cate Blanchett’s one-of-a-kind beauty shined in the role of the complex Daisy. Even Brad Pitt’s daughter appears in the movie.

I’m glad I waited all along for this movie to watch it in the cinema; it was just as I expected: a grand experience. The almost three hours passed without getting me bored. It’s an expressive, thought-provoking tale with some real magic. Still I wouldn’t qualify it as bizarre; the story was fluid enough and presented so credible. I will end my review with a quote, to prove the movie’s thought-provoking nature (if I haven’t already): “We’re meant to lose the people we love. How else would we know how important they are to us?”