Wednesday, May 6, 2015

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)


"I was born under unusual circumstances".


Directed by David Fincher
Produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Ceán Chaffin
Screenplay by Eric Roth
Story by Eric Roth, Robin Swicord
Based on "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson, Julia Ormond, Jason Flemyng, Elias Koteas, Tilda Swinton
Music by Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography: Claudio Miranda
Edited by Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall
Production company: The Kennedy/Marshall Company
Distributed by Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date: 25 December 2008 (Fiji)
Running time: 166 minutes
Country: United States
Budget: $150 million
Box office: $333.9 million

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is a romantic fantasy drama film directed by David Fincher and based on "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The story is about Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with bizarre consequences.


Cast
  • Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button (adult)
  • Robert Towers as Benjamin Button (apparent adult)
  • Peter Donald Badalamenti II as Benjamin Button (apparent adult)
  • Tom Everett as Benjamin Button (apparent adult)
  • Spencer Daniels as Benjamin Button (apparent age 12)
  • Chandler Canterbury as Benjamin Button (apparent age 8)
  • Charles Henry Wyson as Benjamin Button (apparent age 5)
  • Cate Blanchett as Daisy Fuller (adult)
  • Elle Fanning as Daisy Fuller (age 6)
  • Madisen Beaty as Daisy Fuller (age 11)
  • Taraji P. Henson as Queenie
  • Julia Ormond as Caroline Fuller (adult)
  • Shiloh Jolie-Pitt as Caroline Fuller
  • Jason Flemyng as Thomas Button
  • Mahershalalhashbaz Ali as Tizzy Weathers
  • Jared Harris as Captain Mike Clark
  • Faune A. Chambers as Dorothy Baker
  • Elias Koteas as Monsieur Gateau
  • Ed Metzger as Theodore Roosevelt
  • Phyllis Somerville as Grandma Fuller
  • Josh Stewart as Pleasant Curtis
  • Tilda Swinton as Elizabeth Abbott
  • Bianca Chiminello as Daisy's friend
  • Rampai Mohadi as Ngunda Oti
  • Lance E. Nichols as Preacher
  • Edith Ivey as "The woman who taught him to play piano"


A great film from my favourite director. I can't find right words to explain how wonderful is this picture. Acting, costumes, the story, details, dialogues... Everything is on the high level! Fincher's running time is almost always longer than two hours therefore I didn't note how fast did the time passed. By the way, the story is based on the short story of F. Scott Fitzgerald who is my most favourite author.

The work of actors and actresses is completely splendid. For example, I'm not a big fan of Brad Pitt however his role Benjamin Button showed me him as a talented actor. And I can say absolutely the same about Cate Blanchett. In short this picture is a must-see as its magnificence can't be described with any words.


Advantages
  • Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button
  • Cate Blanchett as Daisy Fuller
  • Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story
  • Visual effects
Disadvantages
  • A little too slow moving

"Strangenesses"
  • Growing  younger instead of growing older

Clue Moments
  • The leg fracture
  • The house for aged
  • Daisy's night dance


A viewer can see a strange love story which is changing step by step: when he grows younger, she becomes older. Time is all they need or it's better to say it's what we all need. Don't forget: time is fleeting so come one! Do what you want to do, say what you want to say, think what you want to think. It's of no consideration at all you get younger or older, there's only one result - death. This way all we have it's this moment and we must use it, enjoy it against all the odds before it's too late.



Soundtracks
  1. Alexandre Desplat - Postcards
  2. Alexandre Desplat - Mr. Gateau Alexandre Desplat
  3. Alexandre Desplat - Meeting Daisy
  4. Alexandre Desplat - A New Life Alexandre Desplat
  5. Alexandre Desplat - Love in Murmansk
  6. Alexandre Desplat - Meeting Again
  7. Alexandre Desplat - Mr. Button Alexandre Desplat
  8. Alexandre Desplat - Little Man Oti
  9. Alexandre Desplat - Alone at Night Alexandre Desplat
  10. Alexandre Desplat - It was Nice to Have Met You Alexandre Desplat
  11. Alexandre Desplat - Childrens Games
  12. Alexandre Desplat - Submarine Attack
  13. Alexandre Desplat - The Hummingbird
  14. Alexandre Desplat - Sunrise on Lake Pontchartrain
  15. Alexandre Desplat - Daisys Ballet Career
  16. Alexandre Desplat - The Accident
  17. Alexandre Desplat - Stay out of My Life
  18. Alexandre Desplat - Nothing Lasts
  19. Alexandre Desplat - Some Things You Never Forget
  20. Alexandre Desplat - Growing Younger
  21. Alexandre Desplat - Dying Away
  22. Alexandre Desplat - Love Returns
  23. Alexandre Desplat - Benjamin and Daisy


Quotations
* * *
Benjamin Button: You can be as mad as a mad dog at the way things went. You could swear, curse the fates, but when it comes to the end, you have to let go.
* * *
Benjamin Button: For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.
* * *
Benjamin Button: Our lives are defined by opportunities; even the ones we miss.
* * *
Benjamin Button: It's a funny thing about comin' home. Looks the same, smells the same, feels the same. You'll realize what's changed is you.
* * *
Mrs. Maple: Benjamin, we're meant to lose the people we love. How else would we know how important they are to us?
* * *
Benjamin Button: It's funny how sometimes the people we remember the least make the greatest impression on us.
* * *
Benjamin Button: 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.
* * *
Benjamin Button: Momma? Momma? Some days, I feel different than the day before.
Queenie: Everyone feels different about themselves one way or another, but we all goin' the same way.
* * *
Daisy: And in the spring, 2003, he looked at me. And I knew, that he knew, who I was. And then he closed his eyes, as if to go to sleep.
* * *
Daisy: Would you still love me if I were old and saggy?
Benjamin Button: Would you still love ME if I were young and had acne? When I'm afraid of what's under the stairs? Or if I end up wetting the bed?
* * *
Daisy: You're so young.
Benjamin Button: Only on the outside.
* * *
Daisy: I wanna remember us just as we are now.
* * *
Queenie: You as ugly as an old pot, but you still a child of God...
* * *
Queenie: You never know what's comin' for ya.
* * *
Benjamin Button: I'm always lookin' out my own eyes.
* * *
Mr. Daws: Did I ever tell you I been struck by lightning seven times? Once when I was repairing a leak on the roof.
[brief footage of a man getting struck by lightning]
Mr. Daws: Once I was just crossing the road to get the mail.
[brief footage of a man getting struck by lightning]
Mr. Daws: Once, I was walking my dog down the road.
[brief footage of a man getting struck by lightning]
Mr. Daws: Blinded in one eye; can't hardly hear. I get twitches and shakes out of nowhere; always losing my line of thought. But you know what? God keeps reminding me I'm lucky to be alive.
[sniffles]
Mr. Daws: Storm's comin'.
* * *
Benjamin Button: Some nights, I'd have to sleep alone. I didn't mind, I would listen to the house breathin'. All those people sleepin'. I felt... safe.
* * *
Daisy - Age 7: Are you sick?
Benjamin Button: They said I was gonna die soon but, maybe not.
Daisy - Age 7: You're odd.
* * *
Benjamin Button: What if I told you that instead of gettin' older, I was gettin' younger than everybody else?
* * *
Dr. Rose: Where'd he come from?
Queenie: My sister's child. From Lafayette. She had an unfortunate adventure. The poor child, he got the worst of it. Come out white.
* * *
Mr. Daws: Did I ever tell you I was struck by lightning seven times? Once when I was in the field, just tending to my cows:
* * *
Mr. Daws: Did I ever tell you I been struck by lightning seven times? Once when I was just sittin' in my truck just minding my own business:
* * *
You may see the trailer here.


Plot: 10/10
Entertainment: 10/10
Acting: 9/10
Originality: 9/10
Music and Sound: 9/10

9/10

No comments:

Post a Comment