Movie Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Versatility is a quality which I think seperates great actors from good ones. Kevin Spacey, Edward Norton, Johnny Depp: all have demonstrated that they will forgo appearance and the 'cool factor' to make a movie with integrity. Another one I'd add to that list is Brad Pitt. Some may object, but look at some of his filmography:

Se7en

Fight Club

Snatch

Ocean's Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen

Burn After Reading

I doubt many could argue that his performance in Se7en turned the film into a classic. Fight Club, I think was simply the epitomy of cool. Both of these films are so good that no matter how many times you watch them, you will probably spot something you hadn't seen before. Of course, that can't be attributed solely to Brad Pitt: but it makes for a pattern of brilliant films that are so good they become timeless.

In each of those films, he tries to body swerve the 'dumbass pretty boy' image with intelligent dialogue, sophisticated plot and character developments, and by putting a distance between himself and the viewer in an attempt to come across as mysterious. I think it works.

And to prove that he isn't fussed about simply pleasing the hordes of women who scream at him everywhere he goes, he is happy to take the role of the gormless idiot (Burn After Reading) or the pathetic old (young) man. Take the example of his recently released film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, directed by the same man as Se7en and Fight Club - David Fincher.

I saw this in the cinema recently, and went into it expecting something very different. That's probably because I hadn't even seen the trailer and had no idea what the film was about, but it was still different.

The film begins in 1918 with an unknown baby, born to a mother who dies in childbirth. At first he appears to be horrifically disfigured, but in actual fact he was born old. The film follows this character throughout his life right into the 21st century, as he grows younger with time, as the people around him grow older. It's a bizarre plot in a way, because no attempt was made to explain why Benjamin found himself in this situation, and nobody around him ever seemed to display much surprise or interest in his apparent age-reversal. But if they had tried to explain that, the film would have been far too long.

Cate Blanchett is brilliant in the film, providing a beautiful constant in a story with an ever changing series of characters, as the plot follows Benjamin through his varied life across the United States. Blanchett plays Rosie, the love of Benjamin's life whom he meets when they are both children (though Benjamin looks 90), and they oscillate round each other, finding themselves back together at various intervals throughout their lives.

It's an excellent story with a few really exciting moments (though there could have been more of those), which really envelopes you and you can't help buying into the plot - even though it's not without its holes.

Brad Pitt continues his long list of great performances in this movie. At no point throughout the story, as a nine year old who looks eighty, or an eighty year old who looks nine, did he ever compromise his character by showing 'too much of himself' - he was believable at all times while showing the occasional flash of brilliance.