Curiosity killed the movie

It would be an understatement to say that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is one of the most currently buzzed about movies. It’s nominated for a ton of awards, and it’s third or fourth on the box office since it opened on Christmas Day. After putting off seeing this movie, I finally dragged myself to theaters to wach it. I could see what all the fuss was about: Button is a fascinating story about a man who ages backwards–he is born like an old man and then grows younger, ultimately dying as a baby. I was immediately taken by the film’s score, composed by Alexandre Desplat. It was unique and peculiar, and it fit the movie’s interesting premise like a glove.

The movie was definitely worth all the excitement, because it showed how far movies have come. It is truly amazing how special effects, costumes and make-up can play tricks on the audience’s minds, creating the illusion of age. I found myself wondering during different parts of the movie, “How the hell did they do that?” I gaped in awe as what looked like a fifteen-year-old Brad Pitt stood staring at a 50 or 60-year-old Cate Blanchett. Due praise needs to be given to the men and women responsible for making such transformations happen.

However, apart from the amazing feats in special effects and cinematography, nothing else can be said about the film, really. I felt like the story was kind of flat; that despite the truly curious case of Benjamin Button, there was no heart in the movie. I’m sure many would disagree, since critics have lauded it one of the best movies of the year. I don’t doubt that it is, however, I found myself sitting in the theater not feeling at all sympathetic towards the predicaments of Button and his lady love, Daisy. In fact, there weren’t really any predicaments. It just seemed like the writers and director wanted simply to tell a story, and that they wanted to reach an end. They wanted to tell the story of a man with a curious case of aging backwards in time, and that’s it. There was no real message, and no moral that I could garner from the tale. I felt like the film was more a vehicle for special effects and make-up, and that they merely wanted to showcase that they would be able to play with the idea of age.

The performances were dull and unimpressive. Brad Pitt did nothing, really, as the title character Benjamin Button. All he did was stand there as the canvas that the special effects and make-up artists used to paint a portrait of a peculiar man. There were no dramatic outbursts, no poignant moments, no brilliant lines that came from Mr. Pitt. In my opinion, Pitt has been more dramatic in other movies, such as Babel and Legends of the Fall. Cate Blanchett, who is no stranger to the powerful drama, was equally as unimpressive in the film as Pitt was. Sure, she was breathtakingly beautiful, but she was, as Pitt, merely a vessel upon which a challenge was taken upon by the artists who wanted to show her aging forwards. I was amazed, don’t get me wrong, by the way they made a 40-year-old actress look like she was 16. However, there wasn’t enough substance to her role, and Daisy was merely a selfish girl who was fascinated with a man who spurned her when she was younger.

The love story in Button wasn’t epic. In fact, the movie reminded me a lot of Forrest Gump. Like Gump, Button is a story about a man’s journey coming full circle at the end with his childhood sweetheart. Both are love stories at heart, however, Button lacks the heart of Gump and the tragedy of its romance. Yes, the romance in Button is by all means tragic in its own right, because nothing is as painful as not being able to raise your child due to a physical abnormality that absolutely cannot be cured. Nothing is as painful as having to leave the love of your life because of something you cannot control. However, had the performances only been more powerful, and had Benjamin Button truly explored the meaning of his condition, and had truly, introspectively examined what made him such a curious man, I feel like the movie may have been more successful. Instead, the movie concentrated on the showy cinematics.

Something I enjoyed immensely in the movie was the little snippets of an old man’s flashbacks of when he “got struck by lightning 7 times”. The man would say to Button, “Did I ever tell you that I got struck by lightning 7 times?” after which a short, black and white clip would follow showing an incident where he is struck by lightning. I thought these were cute and hilarious, and these were the moments that I enjoyed in the film.

I think that the film is a must-see, because it shows a great achievement in cinema. Art direction, sets and design should be immensely credited for the outcome of this film, because the film is a work of art. It shows just how much film has grown and also how much more film can do. However, what was an amazing feat of design and aesthetics was also a film that lacked a lot of heart. Benjamin Button was a lonely man, because everyone he cared about died before he did. However, the power of such a lonely sentiment was lost on the audience, because the actors and the lines did not encapsulate enough such a troubling sentiment.