Benjamin Button's epic journey of life...

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Director: David Fincher Cast: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett

Rating: * * * * *

By,
Rahul Ojha

An old lady lying in the hospital bed with her daughter besides her is counting her last hours. It’s pouring outdoors and the weather report on the Television news channel warns of a hovering hurricane, the destination of which is not known. In the midst of this turbulent backdrop ,the old lady requests her daughter to open the thick diary kept in the corner of the room. The daughter starts reading out and an epic memoir unfolds.

Rewind to the year 1918.....

The story of the life of Benjamin Button, a man who was born old and wrinkled, and ageing backwards epitomises and philosophizes with a high degree of subtlety the transience of human lives, their relationships and mental faculties. It’s like that painting which at first glance you would find vague but on closer examination you can interpret the meaning of each and every stroke made by the painter and admire its true beauty. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (TCCOBB) is a wonderfully crafted painting, the brilliance of which you can appreciate only if you use all your senses and truly feel the movie.

It is inevitable that while watching this, you are reminded of and draw comparisons to that very endearing film – Forrest Gump. Characters of both the movies are naive, gullible, are essentially all alone in their journey of life and have a steady and inextinguishable flame of love for the girl they met and befriended in childhood. But David Fincher’s treatment of Benjamin Button is passionate, very artistic and not as feel good as Forrest Gump. David Fincher departs from the dark movies like Se7en, Fight Club and Zodiac which he is known for.

Life is all about those magical moments – your first breadth, the first step you take, your first day at school, the first time your heart skips a beat, the first kiss, the first love, the first heartbreak, the first pay cheque, the day you tie the knot, giving birth and raising your own kin and alas facing the inevitable. Benjamin Button’s life wonderfully captures these events in reverse order. It is the implausibility of the storyline which brings about the beauty and essence of the film and what it is trying to convey – “Life isn't measured in minutes, but in moments.”

The only problem with ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ is that for all its artiness, one is never actually at the edge of their seat. The plot and series of events are quite predictable. Don’t expect or wait for a scene that’ll make you hold your stomach and laugh out loud. Instead what you will be served from time to time is heart warming moments that will emotionally move you.

The casting of each and every character is perfect and their performance brilliant. With so many dimensions to the title in character of Benjamin Button and the time-line of the story it is a very difficult role indeed. But, Brad Pitt does justice to every layer of this character and simply outstands in his portrayal of Benjamin Button. Cate Blanchett also proves why she is one of the most critically appreciated leading actresses around.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is also an excellent endeavour in cinematography, background score, dialog writing and screenplay. With the OSCARS round the corner it will certainly be in the middle of all the action!