The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Curious indeed.  I went into the theater thinking there might be a slight chance I would come out of it three hours before I had entered. Not having had that literally happen to me, I did feel rejuvenated and with an optimistic outlook in life, as if to say, I can make my life go back in time, recover the good things, forego of whatever is no longer needed, (shed those extra pounds, etc., etc.). So in a sense, I did come out of the movie theater feeling younger than at the point I entered, so for that....Kudos to mister Fincher (and F. Scott Fitzgerald who wrote the original story upon which the film is based). 

Now, I don't know weather making me feel good was the intention of the movie, making me shed a tear here and there but overall giving me a positive attitude; certainly this is a good quality in a film, for which I understand 13 Oscar nominations. Brad Pitt is delightful in that he really confers the image of a man that does characterize a broad range of ages accurately or really believable.. a man of few emotions though, but a lot of years (Brad Pitt's ship will sink, not unlike DiCaprio's, but the story floats on... i.e. No Oscar for Mr. Pitt this time). 

The Story beautifully conveys the idea that love transcends age... (although just to a certain extent, as some hormonal balances might, or rather, do come into play), and we are all suckers for a good love story. Beware though, if you're in a hurry or tired, this one's a little long (very enjoyable non-the-less) 

The character, slightly different than the rest of us, has to struggle against his own diverse nature, but more so, his main struggle is how this affects his relationship to his loved one (Cate Blanchett). In a sense, it reminds me of Forrest Gump (Steal it)... They both have a slight handicap of sorts that could make them ostracized, but they play along and this doesn't become the issue... The issue though is that they meet their childhood "sweethearts" somewhere along their lives and this changes their outlook on things. I could enlist some other similarities like... they both live through wars, they're both southerner, they're sailors, at one point in their life they use a walking device, they befriend a black man... amongst many other similarities... the story line is of epic proportions taking us through different important events throughout the twentieth century and beyond.... Also, the accompanying music is well balanced but does not take center stage.

You might find this movie interesting if: you grew amongst elderly, you have a crush on someone from your childhood, you liked James Dean, you enjoyed The Motorcycle Diaries, you don't know about prostitute etiquette, you're wondering when did tattoos make their latest debut,  you loved it when Forrest Gump took the oscar 14 years ago, you hated it and felt Pulp Fiction was robbed from its Oscar, you feel like the previous discussion is futile as it was The Shawshank Redemption which deserved the coveted statuette, you liked the old lady from Titanic.

And so, I can say this is a strong contender this Oscar season, and diverting a little from the original line of my blog, which is for rental movies, once it's Oscar season I like to watch most of what is nominated so I can at least root for someone a month for now. Will I root for Benjamin? I don't know, I haven't watched any of the other nominated films, (looking forward to watching Slumdog Millionaire and the talent of Danny Boyle) but I can tell you again... Benjamin Button will be a strong contender! For now, I will rate it Buy it.  (But do go watch it before it comes out on video though).  Have a good one y'all!