The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The 2008 film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story Curious Case of Benjamin Button, is a very touching movie.
Theatrical poster for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Copyright © 2008 by Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
What if a person is born in physically old, and grows younger in each passing day?
This touching story is based on the short story (that can be read online here or in Project Guttenberg.
Having read the short story first before watching the film, I was quite surprised at the ‘creative liberty’ that the filmmakers have taken that elevated the main character (from someone in my opinion is selfish in the original short story) to a person of genuine care and sincerity to those around him in the film version.
Brad Pitt plays wonderfully (and for which he deserves an Academy nomination for Best Actor) as the reverse-aging Benjamin. Abandoned by his father as an infant with the infirmities of an old man, Benjamin grew up under the care of Afro-American woman in a retirement home.
As he noticed himself growing younger and stronger each day, he began to explore life, the world, and eventually love and sacrifice.
Being a drama film, the story pace is rather slow and only gets exciting in a few scenes, but the message for us to appreciate what we have, the time we can spend and who we can spend them with is always relevant for many people.
My rating:
Story: A-
Visual: A (you’ve got to love the scenery and make up effects they made for the aging characters)
Cast: A
overall: A
Edit:
Here are some trailer links.
Hi res download: http://movies.apple.com/movies/paramount/thecuriouscaseofbenjaminbutton/benbutton-tlr2a_h480p.mov
