The Curious Case of Benjamin Button [Theatrical Release] | ![The Curious Case of Benjamin Button [Theatrical Release]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51lR-IXa8wL._SL500_.jpg)
| Manufacturer: Paramount
Category: Theatrical Release
This item is no longer available
Rating:  79 reviews
Language: English (Unknown)
Region: 1
Number Of Discs: 1
ASIN: B0017ANAZE
Theatrical Release Date: November 26, 2008
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
The technical dazzle of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a truly astonishing thing to behold: this story of a man who ages backwards requires Brad Pitt to begin life as a tiny elderly man, then blossom into middle age, and finally, wisely, become young. How director David Fincher--with makeup artists, special-effects wizards, and body doubles--achieves this is one of the main sources of fascination in the early reels of the movie. The premise is loosely borrowed from an F. Scott Fitzgerald story (and bears an even stronger resemblance to Andrew Sean Greer's novel The Confessions of Max Tivoli), with young/old Benjamin growing up in New Orleans, meeting the girl of his dreams (Cate Blanchett), and sharing a few blissful years with her until their different aging agendas send them in opposite directions. The love story takes over the second half of the picture, as Eric Roth's script begins to resemble his work on Forrest Gump. This is too bad, because Benjamin's early life is a wonderfully picaresque journey, especially a set of midnight liaisons with a Russian lady (Tilda Swinton) in an atmospheric hotel. Fincher observes all this with an entomologist's eye, cool and exacting, which keeps the material from getting all gooey. Still, the Hurricane Katrina framing story feels put-on, and the movie lets Benjamin slide offscreen during its later stages--curious indeed. --Robert Horton
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| Customer Reviews: Read 74 more reviews...
 Too Much Multi-Tasking to be Multi-Layered These Days? June 27, 2009
K. Dunn (Austin, TX USA)
I rarely spend the electrons to write a review online, but, in this case, felt the need to do so. What I noticed, as I watched "Button" in the theater, was that the audience's varied reaction was really a comment on our times.
Behind me sat several teenagers. One girl seemed only to be able to munch popcorn and then follow the plot vaguely; constantly, she was asking her friends what was going on and then commenting "That couldn't happen. I don't get it."
Other teens sat silently and their snacks were untouched as they watched the film, frame by frame. When the end credits were rolling, I heard the quietest among those youths say, "That was a fine film. I'm going to be thinking about it for a while." His quiet associates agreed, while the kids with "jitters" were nothing less than dismissive of the experience.
I've noticed the same diversity of reactions from the online reviewers. The film is either too long or not long enough. The plot either grips your heart or leaves you cold. It's amazing, to me, that so much of what this film was about seems to have been lost on many viewers.
1) It is a fantasy. If you can't accept the premise, you can't go with what the premise generates. Don't go see any animations, any sci fi, even any historical fiction, if you want realism and need realism alone to be happy. Just don't go to those films. You'll be much, much more content.
2) In a world where we are asked to multi-task constantly, in a world in which the surface appearance of an event is everything, in a world in which the understanding of symbolism and rich subtexts is a lost art, many of us can no longer rev up those synapses to seek what lies beneath the obvious.
3) What did I take away from the film? Well, the list is long, but I'll edit the aspects of the screenplay that struck me as important elements, even if not overt ones:
Responsibility (Ben's father abandoned him; Queenie never did.)
Acceptance and strength (How would any of us accept an arthritic, geriatric infant or could we?)
Bias (against the old and their eccentricities and against the young and their naive views)
Misperception (wrinkles don't always signify wisdom any more than young skin always signifies ignorance)
Love can prevail (even as Ben regresses to a helpless infant and then to nothingnes; even as his love ages to pain and disease)
My point is that, with all the amazing technical effects, with the absolutely stunning design of the film, and with the long running time, it's very easy to ignore that "Button's" screenplay brought a lot more to the viewing audience than just a fantastic plot and amazing CGI effects.
It'll be interesting to see how this film is viewed in years to come, remembering that some of our most honored classic films were NOT all that successful upon release. Some were panned as mediocre, at best. Many had conflicting reviews from both professionals and the public.
I suspect "Button" will be far more highly regarded in 30 years than it has been today.
Ignore the one-star idiots... April 1, 2009
Mike (PA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've never been so moved by a movie in my life. To get on here and see some of the nonsense these half-wits are writing is insane. No, this movie is not for everyone, but it is for anyone who has a side of them that is sentimental and very heartfelt. I really cannot put it into words how beautiful this movie truly is. Some of these morons are saying that they couldn't wait for it to be over...leave. Just leave the theater and spare us your crying over how it's not fight club for god's sake. I did not want it to end. I kept hoping the next scene was not the last. Eventually it was, and that was a very sad (literally) moment. I will be one of the first to pick this up on blu-ray when it comes out in May. I can only hope that I will see something close to as wonderful as this movie is in my lifetime. If you have not seen this, please check it out when it comes out on dvd in May. You will not regret it. Unless you want a 45 minute action flick like some of these tools.
Release date SDVD and Blu March 19, 2009
Ryan Houge
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
this is coming out sdvd and blu ray on May 5th, 2009. First to know?...where are ya?
Magical and Very Moving March 15, 2009
Jennifer Sack (Seattle, WA USA)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I was fascinated by the characters and the setting. Such an amazing piece of work. It highlighted optimism in the face of adversity, and a zest for life that showed no bounds. He didn't live any longer or shorter than most, but he knew what life was and how to cherish every moment. He wasn't selfish or boastful. He was just a lover of life - he really lived it and helped to enhance the joy of those who came to know him. He showed forgiveness and fortitude. I admire this character and cried my eyes out at the end, as did every other person in the theatre, men included. A beautiful film.
A Curious Journey Through Time March 14, 2009
Chris Luallen (Nashville, Tennessee)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) is born as a baby with the physical infirmities of an old man. He is expected to die in infancy. But instead begins to grow younger with age. He is well cared for until age 18 by his kindly adopted mother Queenie. Then leaves home to sail to Russia on a tug boat ship which later becomes part of the American navy during World War II. Button later goes to New York to find his childhood friend Daisy (Cate Blanchett). But his romantic overtures are intially rejected. He has an affair with an older woman before he and Daisy are re-united. From there they fall in love and live together. But, after their child is born, Pitt decides his age regression is unsuited for fatherhood and leaves. Later Button returns and is cared for until death by Daisy.
This film offers a curious journey through the 20th century as lived by one very unique man. The period set design, make-up and cinematography are first rate, as you feel yourself transported back into different historical eras. Also Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett both do a fine acting job. But I found Eric's Roth script to be rather uneven. It didn't suprise me to find out that Roth also wrote "Forrest Gump". While this movie shares that film's sense of wonder about life. It also, like "Gump", is excessively sentimental and pretenious at times. For example, it has many quotable lines that pretend to more profound and meaningful than they actually are.
I also found the first 2/3's of the movie to be superior to the final 1/3. Button's reasons for leaving his family seem ill-considered and his choice to travel the world on a motorcycle seems more like something a 20 old would be doing rather than a man of 65 who has a family to care for. The first part of the movie emphasizes that Button is a child in an old man's body. So I feel the later part of the movie should have emphasized Button as a old man in a young man/child's body. But this part is poorly handled. I also think the movie could used some serious editing, cutting itself down to 2 hours rather than nearly 3.
Still I found Button to be a charming and very likeable character who is being swept along by the fates on a life journey full of magic and mystery. It's ride worth taking.
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