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A Mirror Floating in Water

#7 The Curious Case of Benjeman Button - Best Films of the Decade

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by
DanielBenoit
, 11-29-2009 at 12:32 AM (1032 Views)
dir. David Fincher 2008

This is a revived and re-edited review that I had posted a while back on here.

A truly poetic film about the passing of time, seen through the eyes of a man who ages backwards (he is born an old man and dies a baby). Director David Fincher perfectly and beautifully illustrates all the ages that Benjeman goes throughout his life, from the Progressive era, to the Jazz Age, to the seventies; this is a breathetaking film on the grand scale of an entire life. Of course not all relationships can be illustrated as vividly in the course of three hours, but each friendship that Benjeman makes is like a subtle litte short story. Take his affair with the wife of a politician (played sublimely by Tilda Swinton), their late night chats in the kitchen are so reflective of real life, that most of this film seems to be a strange irony, based on fantasy and built into something pure and real. This has Brad Pitt's and Cate Blanchett's best performance to date, and has too many perfect snapshots of life to be listed entirely in a review. Their relationship throughout the film is beautiful and spans each-others lives, each one inevidibly coming back to each other through all the ages of their time. Stunning make-up and special effects, all integrated into one of the best films to come out in the past ten years. But despite all its granduer, it never becomes superflorous or distant, instead it comes together as if we've lived through it. What do you know? Hollywood finally comes out with a picture with unbelievable special effects and performances *gasp*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqeqaweXBV0

Updated 11-29-2009 at 04:17 AM by DanielBenoit

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Comments

  1. qimissung's Avatar
    I haven't seen it, although I have heard that it's good. Maybe I'll give it a shot.
  2. Virgil's Avatar
    I haven't seen it either. My wife can't stand Brad Pitt, so it was nixed. But we discussed the fine short story here on lit net in a couple of threads: http://www.online-literature.com/for...ghlight=Button
    and
    http://www.online-literature.com/for...ghlight=Button
  3. TheFifthElement's Avatar
    I haven't seen it either. I read the story, and then based on the film synopsis wondered how they could call it the same thing. I guess it's loosely based on the Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but not actually the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Until I forget the story I think I'd struggle to watch the movie without my inner editor screaming at the scriptwriters.
  4. DanielBenoit's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by TheFifthElement
    I haven't seen it either. I read the story, and then based on the film synopsis wondered how they could call it the same thing. I guess it's loosely based on the Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but not actually the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Until I forget the story I think I'd struggle to watch the movie without my inner editor screaming at the scriptwriters.
    Well it's a major expansion of the short story. Also, while Fitzgerald's was more satirical, the movie is serious.

    I always think that since the best literature can never be properly adapted for the screen, that if you must adapt something, then you might as well go in a different direction so that it will make a good transition for the screen. It's just like with translation; the best translations of classical Greek poetry are not the most literal ones, but ones which capture the feel of the poem, and not just the direct meaning.