“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
D: David Fincher
S: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett
MANILA, Philippines—It’s such a relief to watch truly substantial, well-made films after December’s cinematic drought. This week and next, tabloid darlings, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, are giving their fans something to cheer about: Pitt sinks his thespic teeth into David Fincher’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” while his glorious better half breathes life into the true-to-life story of Christine Collins in Clint Eastwood’s gripping missing-child drama, “The Changeling” (which opens next week).
Premise
The premise of Fincher’s latest movie—adapted from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1920s short story—is initially hard to take seriously, but the celebrated director tells his tale so engagingly that it’s difficult not to get drawn to his film’s bittersweet metaphorical beauty, magical whimsy and sweeping romance. Indeed, storytelling is key:
The journey of Benjamin Button (Pitt) begins at the end of World War One, in 1918: Benjamin’s dying mother delivers him as the last bullets of the cruel war are fired. To everyone’s shock, this particular neonate is born “in his 80s”: He’s almost blind from cataracts, while his frail body struggles with arthritis. Moreover, he looks like an octogenarian—wrinkly face, sagging skin and all.
After his distraught, horrified father leaves Benjamin in a nursing home, the hospice’s kind-hearted, black caretaker, Queenie (Taraji P. Henson), raises the unwanted child as her own and teaches him about love, family and loyalty. Benjamin’s life gets a booster shot of adrenaline when he meets the love of his life, Daisy Fuller (Cate Blanchett). Their friendship and love story unravel as Benjamin ages in reverse.
To tell his protagonists’ nine-decade-long story, director Fincher shifts from one section to another and weaves them together by showing the elderly Daisy on her deathbed in a New Orleans hospital in 2005, as the deadly Hurricane Katrina approaches. In well-staged scenes that will take viewers’ breath away, a secret unfolds as her daughter, Caroline (Julia Ormond), reads Benjamin’s memoirs to her dying mom.
On paper, Benjamin and Daisy’s romance feels like a convoluted and complicated fantasy about two unlikely individuals whose love for each other defies age and mortality. But, unlike many cinematic fairy tales, Fincher’s film avoids schmaltz overdose and unabashed sentimentality. As a result, the situations the protagonists find themselves in feel more real and relatable to viewers.
Earning high thespic marks are Pitt, Blanchett and Henson (as Benjamin’s adoptive mother), who deserve Oscar nods for their affectingly complex portrayals. Of late, Pitt has been turning in impressively diverse, spot-on performances—from his Venice film fest-winning dramatic turn in Andrew Dominik’s “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” to his surprisingly winsome comedic portrayal in the Coen brothers’ “Burn After Reading,” Here, he conveys love, longing and loneliness without much dialogue.
Reassuring presence
But, it’s Blanchett and Henson who impress the most: In the latter’s able hands, Queenie’s reassuring presence is like a soothing balm to the dark and painful episodes of her beloved son’s life.
For her part, Blanchett makes even her character’s flaws work for her. She makes you understand why, despite Daisy’s shortcomings, Benjamin remains head-over-heels in love with her.
Even more impressively, as the story progresses, the skilled actress manages to seamlessly string together the different portions of her character’s journey with subtle grace, sans flashy histrionics. And, when Daisy gets to her 80s, Blanchett totally vanishes into her character, and demonstrates the depth and magnitude of her abilitites as an actress.
