Seed NewsvineThere is something about story telling when it is done faithfully to the actual story. This modern film take is a drama on the original F.Scott Fitzgerald short story (a comedy) which takes great liberties and perhaps mostly because I think the writer (Eric Roth) was high on watching Forest Gump before drafting this screenplay--No wait; it's because the writer of both Forrest Gump and Benjamin Button are one and the same! That is not to say good intentions and good story writing didn't come into play in the making of this updated film version of the short story by F.Scott Fitzgerald - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. In comparison to the short story, the film is far better. How often can that be said?
Many changes are made from the original story and aside from the first five minutes of Benjamin Button being completely unnecessary and should have been on the cutting room floor--smart plausible changes were made; from time frame, location and large plot points. In the original short story Benjamin does not spend his life alone and is not abandoned by his father at birth. I won't spoil the film but many other changes are made. For the purpose of a better story in celluloid the changes are a dramatic upgrade. Yet something is wrong with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It is more than just the hype. For example, the soundtrack is a swansong to New Orleans; the composer Alexandre Desplat scored Benjamin's theme to be played backwards as well as forward. That was a lot of hard work for a sublime piece. It seems so much effort has gone into this story, and it falls short of greatness despite it's efforts to be great. It's a good retrofit of a short story, yet Forest Gump has been done once. The Gump manner of story telling is becoming hackneyed.
What may be wrong with Benjamin Button is what is right with it; the director David Fincher. Best known for intense and gritty films such as Fight Club (also featuring Brad Pitt), Fincher excels at cinematography and overall visual performances. Could it be his non-sentimental look at life is what makes it so hard to connect with the characters in this story? As people leave Benjamin's life, you feel for him as you should, but you never get to appreciate the lives of those that come into contact with him. Fincher is a great director, one known for detail. But don't assume his attention to detail is perfect, just look at Fight Club and you'll know the references to Delaware landmarks are wrong. From location and direction to cultural points. But then again, those references were also mistaken by the Chuck Palahniuk. David Fincher has delivered an elegant film but because it is based on a short story which is about an ordinary life going through an unordinary experience, there is not a whole lot that can be done with the story. As a footnote, Wilmington Delaware is referenced for the second time in a Fincher film.
Then there is the matter of time. The length of Benjamin Button is a question critics love to raise. But remember, this is a story. A story is told in how long it takes to tell it. If you tell it well, time is not an issue. The flow of this story is good not great, but the pacing is excellent. I never felt during my screening of the Benjamin Button that the story was dragging. I only began to wonder about half way, how will he die? How will it end? I knew he had to end his life in reverse, but the end when it came was as satisfying as it was touching. I had witnessed a full lifetime; which for something make-believe seemed actually very believable. In F.Scott Fitzgerald's short story, the beginning of the story (which set the tone) was just too unbelievable. I guess that is another reason Fitzgerald wrote it as a comedy.
Despite the negatives which are by no means true negatives, I can recommend the film as the writers did resolve the weakness of F.Scott Fitzgerald's original short story. In this retelling, Benjamin does spend a life alone, isolated by the fact his body is aging in reverse. He begins his life in an old folks home as his father ironically abandons him at the back steps. There is a bit of preaching to the audience over liberal lifestyle issues but only by way of the some of the settings, not by the characters themselves. But Benjamin's isolation by his condition is the real story being told. In the film, his relationships are shortened, or not had at all because of his condition. You get a strong sense that this man should feel lonely, but his optimism for living out-weighs his foreboding life. For all the Forest Gump like happenings such as the Benjamin and Daisy witnessing a rocket launch at Cape Canaveral to the Daisy's life being reflected on from the setting of Hurricane Katrina, I forgave these points as time line anchors and not blatant attempts to rip off the Forest Gump style of story telling.
Fantastic acting is another element which saves this film. Brad Pitt is flawless as Benjamin Button, and the use of not only his voice as Benjamin when he is a child but also using Kate Blanchett's voice as Daisy when she is a child was a smart move in creating cohesiveness in the growth of these main characters as they staged through life. I mention the characters name Daisy. If you have not noticed, Daisy is the name of Gatsby's true love in The Great Gatsby, F.Scott Fitzgerald's greatest work. It was no mistake the screen writers paid homage to Fitzgerald by renaming Benjamin's love interest Daisy.
On a whole the story of Benjamin Button is worth the investment in time you may spend to watch it. If you miss it in theaters it is a must see on DVD but it is not a film for the ages as it is sometimes hyped.
A graphic novel which remains true to the original F.Scott Fitzgerald story of Benjamin Button is also a good choice for those that want a visual experience of this unusual story.
