The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

David Fincher has directed many gruesome and violently bizarre films in his career. His director credits include “Seven,” “Fight Club,” and 2007’s “Zodiac.” He reunites with Brad Pitt for a third time to direct a loose adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story. While the previews make “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” seem like a film Tim Burton would direct, Fincher shows that he has a much different style than Burton.

The story opens in 2005. Hurricane Katrina is about to hit New Orleans. Caroline (Julia Ormond) is visiting her mother Daisy (Cate Blanchett). Daisy asks her daughter to read the diary of Benjamin Button,

Benjamin Button was born an unusual way. He was born in 1918 on the day America claimed victory of the First World War. Instead of being born like normal children are, Benjamin was born with health problems that are normally found in people who are aged 70 and older.
His mother dies while giving birth to him and his father becomes scared when he sees what his child is like. He snatches Benjamin from his house and drops him off in front of a porch of a retirement home. Queenie (Taraji P Henson), the caregiver of the home, takes Benjamin in and raises him.
People fear that Benjamin doesn’t have long to live. However, he is able to outlive the health problems and his health starts to improve the younger he gets.
He meets a young lady named Daisy. While they are both technically the same age, he doesn’t look like it so Daisy thinks he is much older than he actually is.
He knows from the moment he meets her, he’s in love.

They lose contact and meet again in the middle when they are both about the same age.

Benjamin is like the rest of us. He can’t reverse his age. He has to make a decision to be with Daisy the rest of his life as he grows younger and she grows older or to move on and realize what love he had is not possible under his condition.

David Fincher directs an amazing film, filled with incredible visuals from cinematographer Claudio Miranda. Eric Roth wrote the screenplay and has written a story so mesmerizing and heartbreaking that some may feel uncertain what to think after it’s over. I mean this in a very good way. It’s a lovely story and very captivating. Alexandre Despalt provided the score, which is both haunting and enchanting.

The film is nearly three hours long. Audiences these days have trouble sitting through a film that long. Some may complain that they liked the movie but it was too long. Roger Ebert once said, “A good movie is never too long and a bad movie is never too short.” I live by this quote whenever I see any film. This is not just a good film, but a miraculous one.

Rating: 4 stars (out of 4)