Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I don't know why, but I tend to gravitate to movies that ruminate on the subject of death, perhaps because it's the common denominator between all of mankind, or maybe because it will always be a dark and terrifying mystery (depending on your own outlook).

In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, directed by David Fincher (Fight Club, Zodiac), death is treated with equal parts frivolity and gravitas.

What makes the case of our titular character so curious is that he is born an old man and grows to become younger as his years pass. Early on in his life, death is a subject that weighs heavily on his mind given the fragile state of his decrepit body. Meanwhile, he is almost too-conveniently abandoned by his natural father on the footsteps of a nursing home for the elderly, so death is a constant reminder of the immediate nature of relationships.

"Nothing lasts," Button states knowingly. While most people go through life with the inevitability of death in their peripheral thought, Button's date and time of death is pre-determined. If you are born 80 years old and age backwards, then you have precisely 80 years to live. Because of this, Button lives with an almost blazé attitude towards the direction his life takes until getting caught up in a romance with a young woman who visits her grandmother in the nursing home.

The relationship first strikes when he is embodied by a geriatric man and she is a pre-teen. Probably fearing a Douglas/Zeta-Jones backlash, Fincher plays the relationship sweet and precocious at first, slowly building to the point of mutual adoration when their ages match in their mid-forties.

Pitt and Blanchett are both fine in their roles, but neither performance feels like something that is out of their range. The real miracle of the film are the special effects, which allows Pitt to act as Button throughout nearly all stages of his life (except that of an infant and teenager), without looking too pixelated and unbelievable. Also of note is Tilda Swinton, whose storyline isn't entirely necessary in the big picture of the main narrative but still manages to deliver a poignant and memorable performance.

The winner of this film is Fincher, who manages to retain the essence of his signature while stretching well outside of the boundaries of his previous work. His sets and tone can still be dark and foreboding, but much of the film is sweeping with just the right touch of grand-scale charm (and maybe a tiny dollop of schmaltz).

An acquaintance of Button's tells him something to the effect of "Death is important, how else are we going to remember how important people are to us?" Such a line rings true for those who have lost someone close and dear. Even for those who haven't experienced this hollow and shuddering pain, Button remains a must-see because of its insight and hopeless romanticism.

Grade: A-