Starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, this
glorious looking film is the story of a "not so ordinary man" and the
people and places he discovers along the way.
To be honest, this one had me sold from the moment I sat down - if only because it travels a very similar path to Tim Burton's Big Fish (a film that was never particularly well received - but probably stands as one of my favourite films... ever).
David
Fincher fills the screen with a sense of magic along with not only
emotional, but a visual romance - each shot looking like a perfectly
composed painting.
That said, with a running time of just over two and a half hours The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button does occasionally suffer from a case of the Meet Joe Black's in that Fincher seems to develop a bit of a crush on Brad Pitt.
There
are close ups and lingering shots of the younger incarnation of Pitt
are delivered in their droves - and, if excluded, could probably save
us all a good fourty five minutes of our lives. But with a dude this
beautiful (and I say that with total confidence in my own sexuality)
can you blame him?
What does hold The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button back, however, is the love interest.
Cate Blanchett gives a stirling performance, layered with intricacies - yet it just doesn't seem right for this film.
Again,
it has nothing to do with how Blanchett performs, but more so what she
has to work with. Her character is shallow, selfish and downright
unlikeable.
Let's just be blunt... she's a bit of a mole (and she's a dancer - surprise, surprise).
I
have always been a sucker for a good "love conquers all" story (it is
part and parcel of growing up with two sisters in the house), but it
only works if you (as an audience member) actually want to see both
parties find happiness with each other.
It almost ruins your day
to see such devotion of cinematic love wasted on such a self centered,
spoiled brat that just assumes she deserves all the happiness in the
world.
It is the inability to convince the audience that
Blanchett's "Daisy" is worth Pitt's endearing "Benjamin" to pine over
for the length of his long, backwards life. It is a fatal flaw that
stops the audience from ever becoming totally involved in the on screen
world or the love affair.
That said, there is something wondrously special about The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button which overrides any superficial problems that pop up from time to time.
And, if for nothing else, it is also an excuse for the women of the world to drool over Brad Pitt.
Honestly, between this and Twilight,
the gals have had a pretty good run of silver screen eye candy - and
one can only hope that karma evens things up for the lads and delivers Barb Wire 2 very, very soon! DVD EXTRAS
It's very rare to find a DVD release with Special Features on it
these days. With Blu Ray biting up it's rear - it seems Extras have all
but jumped ship to the DVD's HD cousin. So it's good to see that the
folk behind the Button are still respecting the fans of this endangered species of a format.
The two disc edition is choc-a-block.
There
is a Bonus Digital Copy of the film (something which US distributors
have been doing for years - way to keep up with the times Australia!!),
as well as a monster 14 In-Depth Behind-the-Scenes featurettes which
details every moment of the film.
An excellent movie - and some excellent Special Features - making The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button the must have DVD of 2009.
Conclusion:
Movie 85% Extras: 80%
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