nan | 楠木

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a lavish production and a sincere effort, which deems it worthwhile; however, the plot is ultimately disappointing, and the central premise of the film amounts to no more than a plot device which raises more questions than the lengthy 160-minute film could answer.

Brad Pitt stars as Benjamin Button, who unlike everyone else, is born an old man and gets younger as he ages. Considered an abomination at birth, he is abandoned by his father, and raised up at an elderly house by an African American woman, Queenie (a delightful performance by Taraji P. Henson). Set in New Orleans of the deep old South, racism could certainly have been a key topic of the film, however it is mostly ignored.

It is during his childhood at the elderly house, or shall I say, “elderly years”, that Benjamin encounters Daisy (Cate Blanchett), the granddaughter of one of the inhabitants, and the “old” and the young immediately develop a deep friendship. It is clear that this friendship certainly has the potential ingredients of romance, but it will take the narrative quite some time before that potential is realized.

There are many other sub-plots and intriguing lines of narrative in this lengthy film, however the romance between Benjamin and Daisy, and how they cope with the consequences of Benjamin’s bizarre condition, is the central piece and also the most well-developed (some of the sub-plots feel too showy and shallow). It is a warm but sad story, of love in impossible circumstances – if you knew that it would never be “happily ever after”, would you still pursue it? And how do you live with the consequences? These are the questions that this romance raises, and while the film does not answer it fully, it does offer enough material for us to ponder. As for the characters – unlike Benjamin, whose “curious case” makes him surreal and difficult to relate to, Daisy is the truly interesting and authentic character, and her self-reflection of her life is deeply involving and emotionally moving.

The script, written by Eric Roth, who also wrote Forrest Gump, certainly shares some similarities both in form and substance with that earlier work. In both cases, the central protagonist is eccentrically unique with a strange condition, and the plot revolves around how that difference makes him experience and view life very differently. And in both cases, the plot mingles historical events into the narrative, which profoundly shapes the character. And both films are at heart very romantic love stories in their warmly naive and fantastical fashion.

However, if truly compared to Forrest Gump, then Benjamin Button would fall short. Most critically, Forrest Gump was devilishly clever at portraying the broader social issues, and Gump, whose adventures may make him look like a wanderer, has a clear central mission in life – to live with a conscience, and to love Jenny with his whole heart. In comparison, Benjamin Button portrays no social themes, and Benjamin is a character with no life values – what does he want out of life? What does he want to achieve? He remains a wanderer throughout the film, and it seems he has no purpose in life.

Even more, the film fails to answer the most interesting question it posed – if you could live your youth with the experience of an old man, how would you do it differently? Unfortunately for Benjamin Button, by the time the film gets to Benjamin’s youth, the narrative has already dragged on for almost two hours and is simply bearing too much weight to squeeze out room to contemplate those bigger questions in life.

Despite this central flaw, this is still a great studio epic and worthy of 3 hours. The romance is emotionally charged, and Mr. Pitt and Ms. Blanchett deliver fine performances. The director, David Fincher, has a resume of edgy, dark films – Se7en, Fight Club, Panic Room and Zodiac. This is perhaps his most mainstream and emotional attempt, and the director deserves recognition for a meticulously detailed film. It’s not a masterpiece, but it is a fine film.

8/10