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Mastidon From BNAT: A Quick Look At BENJAMIN BUTTON...
Merrick here...
A few weeks back, Mastidon regaled us with tales of QUANTUM OF SOLACE's London premiere (HERE).
He attended BNAT X over the weekend, and sent in write-ups on a few of the event's bigger titles...the first of which appears below.
Here's Mastidon...
Hi Guys,
Mastidon here just having returned to the Austin Motel from one of the greatest cinema experiences of my life, BNAT X. As should come as no surprise, Harry pulled out all the stops for the tenth anniversary bringing us a great rebellious theme of films from past, present, and future. I want to focus my column on only one of these great films which is coming to you in the near future, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON.
Written by: Eric Roth & Robin Swicrod
Directed by: David Fincher
Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, and Julia Ormond
Opens: Dec 25th USA, Jan 29th Germany, Feb 6th UK
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
When I first heard about the concept of this film, you could call me more than skeptical. What immediately popped into my head was when MORK & MINDY decided to jump the shark and have a baby Jonathan Winters age backwards. What we got instead was a heartbreaking tale of love and loss with Brad Pitt's best performance in years. Combine that with great directing from David Fincher and it is easy to see why this film works.
Benjamin (Brad Pitt) was born on the day World War I ended, November 11th, 1918 in New Orleans. Abandoned by his father just after birth, Benjamin grows up in an old age home. Starting out as a man who seems to be in his 80s, he can't speak or walk. Slowly as he gets younger, his body improves. To the other residents, he is just another retiree. What he learns from them is life's most important lesson that it is over before you know it so enjoy it while you can. I love the lightning guy!
At the home, Benjamin meets the one true love of his life, Daisy (Elle Fanning age 7 who grows up to be Cate Blanchett). This film reminded me a lot of both FORREST GUMP and FRIED GREEN TOMATOES in many ways with the story telling and the interaction of Benjamin's and Daisy's lives meeting and diverging over time. Both of the films I own on DVD and have watched repeatedly. I can see myself doing the same with Curious Case as it shares the same spirit wanting you to relive the lives of these characters again and again.
My one gripe with the entire film is the final shot. I won't go into detail about it but I just found it a bit over the top. I would have probably given the film 4 1/2 stars if it wasn't for that. It just left a bad taste in my mouth breaking the spell of the rest of the film.
This film is all about appreciating what you have now. Take the little things in life and enjoy them while you can because they will be gone before you know it. And that is exactly what I got out of the last 25 hours, take the little moment of time and enjoying the hell out of it.
Thanks again Harry for an amazing day.
Until the next time....
Ciao,
-Mastidon
Mastidon here just having returned to the Austin Motel from one of the greatest cinema experiences of my life, BNAT X. As should come as no surprise, Harry pulled out all the stops for the tenth anniversary bringing us a great rebellious theme of films from past, present, and future. I want to focus my column on only one of these great films which is coming to you in the near future, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON.
Written by: Eric Roth & Robin Swicrod
Directed by: David Fincher
Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, and Julia Ormond
Opens: Dec 25th USA, Jan 29th Germany, Feb 6th UK
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
When I first heard about the concept of this film, you could call me more than skeptical. What immediately popped into my head was when MORK & MINDY decided to jump the shark and have a baby Jonathan Winters age backwards. What we got instead was a heartbreaking tale of love and loss with Brad Pitt's best performance in years. Combine that with great directing from David Fincher and it is easy to see why this film works.
Benjamin (Brad Pitt) was born on the day World War I ended, November 11th, 1918 in New Orleans. Abandoned by his father just after birth, Benjamin grows up in an old age home. Starting out as a man who seems to be in his 80s, he can't speak or walk. Slowly as he gets younger, his body improves. To the other residents, he is just another retiree. What he learns from them is life's most important lesson that it is over before you know it so enjoy it while you can. I love the lightning guy!
At the home, Benjamin meets the one true love of his life, Daisy (Elle Fanning age 7 who grows up to be Cate Blanchett). This film reminded me a lot of both FORREST GUMP and FRIED GREEN TOMATOES in many ways with the story telling and the interaction of Benjamin's and Daisy's lives meeting and diverging over time. Both of the films I own on DVD and have watched repeatedly. I can see myself doing the same with Curious Case as it shares the same spirit wanting you to relive the lives of these characters again and again.
My one gripe with the entire film is the final shot. I won't go into detail about it but I just found it a bit over the top. I would have probably given the film 4 1/2 stars if it wasn't for that. It just left a bad taste in my mouth breaking the spell of the rest of the film.
This film is all about appreciating what you have now. Take the little things in life and enjoy them while you can because they will be gone before you know it. And that is exactly what I got out of the last 25 hours, take the little moment of time and enjoying the hell out of it.
Thanks again Harry for an amazing day.
Until the next time....
Ciao,
-Mastidon
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How many guys here are going to have their sorry asses dragged in to see this one by their significant other? Get that Pimp hand ready guys.
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This will be a nice change of pace for everyone after being raped by The Spirit. It will help get some of our innocence back.
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. . . but baby Jonathan Winters kicked all kinds of ass, Mastidon.
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Emotionally, it did nothing for me. I think Fincher was so focused on big ideas, he didn't remember to develop his characters. Instead, every single person talked like a philosopher. They just didn't feel like real people to me. But it seems like I'm in the distinct minority here.
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What does the baby turn into?
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Yes, it was.
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The baby turns into a giant space foetus and floats towards the earth whilst the strains of Also Sprach Zarathustra dominates the soundtrack.
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Instead of F. Scott Fitzgerald. *sigh* Sign o' the times, I guess.
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Did you mean the time you've spent since seeing the movie?
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I'm not going to be dragged to see this, you assclown, I'm eagerly awaiting it. Cause, you know, it's david "fuckin'" fincher and brad "fuckin'" Pitt, Seven?...Fight Club? Put down the crack pipe brother. Just because it has romance doesn't make it weak.
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I can't wait to see this.I was gonna see the spirit on christmas but after all the bad reveiws i think i'll go see this instead
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Somebodies on the rag this week. Have fun in the movie with your Diet Coke and bonbons... Dude, it was a joke. The movie doesn't look half bad in total honesty. I did read The Great Gatsby while smoking that crack pipe.
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I can't wait for this film to go into wide release so the wise talkbackers will see what a load of shit this movie is.
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Damn You Michael Bay
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I've forgotten, but I had many more problems with this film than you did, so the final shot wasn't going to ruin it. *SPOILERS* Was it the clock in the flood waters? Was it that montage of characters? Or was it something else? *END SPOILERS* Garbageman>> I agree with you on your critique, but I think that's more a product of Roth's script than Fincher's direction. For me, the biggest problems were: 1) repeated waste of the central conceit, as there was much untapped material to be mined there in terms of juxtaposing and contrasting inner/outer ages, 2) frame story predictable and not particularly sympathetic, given that Cate's character is barely a presence in the first two hours of the film, and a 3) completely bewildering and unsympathetic decision made by Benjamin at the end of the second act.That all said, the performances were solid, and there were some heartwarming and funny moments. I salute Fincher for putting the film together; I just found it ultimately a bit narratively and thematically hollow.
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Nice review, makes it sound like a flick worth seeing. No potential for Talkbackers to make themselves feel superior by jumping down the writer's throat, no defensiveness around the movie not being as good as they hoped it would be, no 500+ post count.
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Thanks. I thought about writing a longer review but the story and concept are fairly straight forward. BNAT lasted just over 25 hours. I wrote this review about 2 hours after BNAT ended.
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***SPOILERS*** To answer your question, it was the clock. But I agree, the performances were solid. IMO, it is Pitt's best acting in several years.
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Well, thanks again, man. It's people like you caring enough to share your thoughts that make this site worth coming to.
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of love and loss? You don't say.
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Thanks. That's all I needed to know. Skipping it.
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"... decision made by Benjamin at the end of the second act." Yes! Exactly! SPOILERS. This is a film with a central conceit that we, as humans, should not be afraid of age, or aging. And then at the very beginning of the third act the main character goes against this conceit. He banishes himself from his loved ones because he is getting old/young. It makes zero sense. He's a character that has grown up with old people, he has never been afraid of death or dying, he doesn't even cry when his 'mother' dies because he grew up with death all around him. For him to go against the main theme of the movie in the third act is terrible, terrible writing. It is a terrible storytelling choice. I loved this movie until that moment and it really kinda destroys the movie. And I am a David Fincher lover. I even love THE GAME and most people hate that movie. Very, very disappointing.
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***SPOILERS**** I disagree on the account that the third act ruined the film. His choice to leave Cate was to protect his daughter nothing more. He made a sacrafice for her. It doesn't mean he stopped loving Cate but did not want to burden her with the task of raising 2 children.
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But, that choice/sacrifice "to protect his daughter" goes against the entire conceit of the film which is we should not be afraid of age or aging. Benjamin grows up in an old folks home, works there off and on his entire life. This is a character that has taken care of the elderly and infirm his entire life, he is even grew up as an elderly man. His choice to suddenly go against everything the film is telling us and everything in his development is a complete reversal of the theme of the movie. Does he leave Daisy because he doesn't want to burden her with raising two children? Yes. But, does that make sense for his character to do? No. In making that choice the film changes its theme into one of - yes - we should fear growing old because our loved ones will have to take care of us.
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Obviously, I'm with guyinthebackrow on this, since I'm the one who raised the point, although I don't even really think he's protecting Daisy and his daughter that much.Daisy says that she's willing to love him and take care of him - no matter what. Therefore, Benjamin essentially makes a unilateral, illogical decision to leave them. And why would he? If anyone has learned to cope with this issue, Benjamin and Daisy have. Why - after all that time they spent apart learning about themselves - would they suddenly throw it away? Aside from that, leaving your lover and daughter so you can go traipse around India is simply not a cool thing to do as far as I'm concerned."Love conquers all," "don't judge a book by its cover,"...these seem to be the prevailing lessons of the film, and yet Benjamin is ignoring them. Daisy knew what she was getting into and was willing to try to handle it. As for the daughter, what exactly is the issue? Kids are equipped to handle a lot more than we give them credit for. Teach your daughter that her father is unusual and that she must be discreet about it. Where's the problem? If it's the inner self that counts, why not live by that creed? Or *AT LEAST* do a better job of convincing me that Benjamin's hanging around would be such an untenable, horrible decision, because the film as written does not convince me AT ALL. When is Benjamin's condition ever truly debilitating or limiting? When does it ever truly invoke prejudice? Good lord - he spends his twilight years looking like a kid but still hanging out in the retirement home. How is this any different than any other human being? This story would have been infinitely more interesting if I saw concrete reasons why Benjamin didn't fit into this universe or pivotal scenes in which appearances force him to try to fit in with the wrong peer group to poor results, because - as presented - he seems to fit in just fine.
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...is hyperbole. A child aging in reverse is no more a physical liability than an aged adult aging in the usual direction. He would still have had the mind of an adult for all those years -presumably at least 25 of them based on physical appearances.
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