The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (DVD, 2009)

Before seeing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button I wondered how I would react to the story of a man who is born old and gets younger as he grows up. Of all of the stories I have come across, this is by far the most bizarre and intriguing. If i had to pick someone to bring this story to the screen I do no think David Fincher would have been my first choice.

How wrong I would have been. This film is by far one of the best if not the best of 2008. Fincher's direction is flawless! The film from start to finish does not let up. There are moments of joy and ecstasy followed by sorrow and understanding. Brad Pitt stars as Benjamin, a boy born an old man who must live his life in reverse. His friend from childhood, Daisy, is played by Cate Blanchett. The story is narrated from Benjamin's point of view with some particular highlights from Daisy.

The cast does nothing wrong. Pitt leads with Blanchett and a strong performance from Taraji P. Henson as Benjamin's surrogate mother Queenie, the only person in the world who seems to understand and truly love him from the start. Other cameos along the way bring a large array of characters, including Tilda Swinton, one of Benjamin's early love interests.

The film spans from the end of World War I to the the arrival of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The transitions from life stage to life stage and decade to decade are seamless. Fincher does a tremendous job at maintaining a steady flow of action and dialogue. There is not a dull moment in the film. The cinematography is superb and couples nicely with Fincher's style of accentuating certain colors to enhance a mood or moment.

There really is nothing wrong with this film. Even with a runtime of about 160 minutes, time just flies by, much like it does for Benjamin, only we are going forward. This is a tender and meaningful film you do not want to wish.

Features Actors:Brad Pitt,Joeanna Sayler,Jason Flemyng,Taraji P. Henson
Running Time:167 Min.
Rating:PG-13


Mortality and loneliness revolves around a baby (Brad Pitt) born old who grows younger over the course of his life. The film opens in New Orleans at the end of the First World War where we find Benjamin's mother (Joeanna Sayler) dying during childbirth being followed by his father's (Jason Flemyng) wrapping the inexplicably-aged infant in swaddling clothes and secretly depositing him on the back steps of the local old folks' home. Fortunately, he is immediately adopted by Miss Queenie (Taraji P. Henson), a selfless, mammy-like figure who altruistically decides to care for him the best she can.
Although her odd-looking, little octogenarian is initially beset by an assortment of infirmities, Queenie can't help but notice that there is something which sets Benjamin apart from the rest of the residents at her assisted living facility. For, while they continue to deteriorate and die, he miraculously has his vitality restored, and gradually gets back his hearing, eyesight, hair, and so forth.
Eventually, Benjamin not only feels fairly spry, but independent enough to bid Queenie and company adieu and sets out to explore the world on his own. And with an uncanny sense of timing rather reminiscent of a Forrest Gump, he proceeds to embark on an epic journey which lands him in the middle of a number of events of historical import over the ensuing decades, such as a World War II naval battle and a NASA rocket launch. Button's reverse aging theme is unique, allowing for a sufficiently novel plotline which proves compelling when you factor in special effects and the Oscar-nominated performances of Brad Pitt and Taraji Henson.

Truely one of a kind movie, very original!Great acting & effects!Hope this helps you decide.Thanks for reading! :)

Most usually, I tend to watch a movie from start to finish, this film was a bit slow paced in the first parts but soon began to pick up closer to the middle part of the film. A common tag-line for this film is that "..Life isn't measured in minutes but in moments" and "I was born under unusual circumstances".

While the film was still being shot, the computer software graphics that helped Benjamin Buttons transform throughout the film was still being designed. The CGI technology changes daily. Brad Pitt's character seemed so real that it was scary.

The elemental irony of this film typically would make anyone wonder how it is like to live in someone else's shoes, especially from the standpoint of the elderly. Myself, being past the point of young and entering into middle age, one senses a deep sense of a powerful hand directing life at every turn. The word destiny or fate always seems to make me wonder about certain monumental defining moments in my life. If those things in life that I forced myself to do and be may have been a lot more exact if I hadn't let my emotions get the best of me. However, not a one of us could say that we know for "one cotton-picking minute" what's going to happen to us all next. That's the wonderment of this film. It usually is best taught to us if we only just experience the story and let our stubbornness and self out of the picture and just live.

The characters of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett were very believable and in love, which is tremendously powerful on film.

Screenplay giant, Eric Roth, who gave us Forrest Gump finished this film with a peaceful message about life when he put to film, his greatest moments by say:

"Some people were born to sit by a river.
Some get struck by lightning.....
Some have an ear for music.......
Some are artists.................
Some Swim........................
Some know buttons................
Some know Shakespeare............
Some Are Mothers.................
.....and some people Dance......." Thanks Eric Roth....

It was a most unusually rare experience to find humanity once again.

I'll give this film a 4/5 even though I'm not sure I'll ever be able to sit through it again.

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I purchased the DVD "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" because I am a big movie buff and enjoy collecting the movies I feel are worthg watching again. Thankfully at this time my income allows me to do so. I saw this movie on its' opening day and had a large interest in it from seeing several trailers at other movies I had attended. I did not do my homework however, and did not realize it was as long a movie as it was. So I was a tad antsy watching it, as I had some time constraints. I enjoyed for the most part what I saw but did want to watch it again at my leisure. As it was derived from a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, another of my favorite authors. As for the movie, I am always in awe of the performance that Cate Blanchett consistently provides, this movie being no exception. Brad Pitt does his part as well, but in my mind I always see him as someone who has good looks versus a refined actor, could be bias on my part, I will let other people be the judge of that. I also think the utter novelty of the story, beginning at old age and getting younger, piqued my interest as well. I sometimes scratch my head at some of the Academy Award nominees for Best Picture, as I did this one, but definitely feel it was worth watching again.

David Fincher directs this tale of Benjamin Button -- a man who was born old and wrinkled but grows younger as the years go by -- with a screenplay adapted from a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The plot throws linear conventions upside down to explore love, loss and memory from the perspective of a character living under incredibly unique -- and unexpectedly difficult -- circumstances.

Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Taraji P. Henson, Julia Ormond