The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
January 10th, 2009 | Categories: Reviews | 6 Comments“Life isn’t measured in minutes, but in moments.”
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
That’s the tagline for the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and not only does it describe the movie very well, but it’s also a great motto to live life by. Some of my greatest memories have been mere moments, so I was looking forward to seeing what some of the greatest moments in Benjamin Button’s unusual life were.
The movie was based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. As an infant, Benjamin Button was born with the appearance of an 86 year old man and all of the physical limitations that occur with old age. The movie tells of the consequences of this bizarre situation, chronicling Benjamin’s life story.
The rest of this post is my opinion about the movie and contains spoilers.
The first thing I noticed about the movie was its stunning cinematography. The movie begins at the end of World War I, and I loved how they perfectly captured the sights, sounds, and atmosphere of that era in New Orleans. The music, the costumes, the scenery – they were all perfect. This continued throughout the movie and in all the different places Benjamin went – Russia, his stint in the navy in the Atlantic Ocean, New York City, Paris, his return to New Orleans, India, and then his return to New Orleans once again.
The acting in it was also superb. I am a fan of both Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, and I was not disappointed by either performance in this movie. I love how they did all of their scenes together, and the sense of their love as well as their loss resonated throughout the whole film. I think that’s part of what I like most about the movie – from the very beginning, you knew that they would fall in love, and even though you knew their time together would always be limited, you still wanted them to experience what time together they could.
What I didn’t like about the film was the whole old Daisy/Caroline story. Telling the story of Benjamin’s life in flashbacks worked, but I didn’t particularly warm to Caroline, and I had trouble understanding what old Daisy was saying to her most of the time. I know that Daisy is in hospital and probably about to die and talking probably isn’t the easiest thing for her, but at some points it was pretty crucial to understand what Daisy was telling Caroline (like when Caroline discovers Benjamin is her father) but I had to guess what Daisy was saying most of the time.
The movie was a little lengthy for my taste. At 166 minutes, there was some stuff they could have cut to shorten the movie. None of the scenes in the movie felt like they were out of place or unnecessary, but I just didn’t feel like this movie needed that much time to tell its story.
Overall Rating: 7.5/10.
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Hi, I'm Manda. I'm a college student studying communications and languages. I like to read, shop, bake, and travel. I have a tendency to listen to my favorite songs on repeat for hours on end. Sometimes I catch myself thinking in a language other than English. 
I agree with you on all points. I watched the movie yesterday and I surely wasn’t disappointed with both Brad and Cate’s performances. The film really had a beautiful cinematography and even had some funny parts. My only problem was I really hoped they removed some parts because they made the movie quite dragging and longer. Also, I agree with you about the whole Daisy/Caroline thing. I enjoyed the flashbacks more than the scenes between the two of them.
Personally, I don’t know the movie, but it sounds interesting and wierd at the same time.
And the motto definitely has a big meaning to it. :)
Oh, I definitely agree about the cinematography, it was a really beautiful movie! I think I’m part of a minority that found Benjamin and Daisy’s relationship kind of odd, though. I mean, it was certainly sweet, and they loved each other and all but there was something really unsettling about it at the same time? Anyhow, I still enjoyed it =D
it was a little weird to see an old version of Brad Pitt’s face pasted onto a kid’s body, but i guess that’s why they call it a “curious case”
I’m sorry, but I didn’t think this movie was all that great. Whenever I hear a review saying “possibly the best movie of the decade,” I cringe. It was mostly the length of the movie and the very slow tempo of everything. If I were old I bet I would’ve loved it. Also, I didn’t think that Brad’s acting was amazing. Good, yes, but great, no. His accent didn’t always match to the part, and his feelings could’ve been conveyed a little crisper.
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