The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

This is a sadly beautiful movie with the most amazing technical effects that I have ever seen and probably have ever done, as I was reading that some effects like young Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt face in small bodies are done digitally and you can hardly tell but honestly there is no time to wonder how they did everything as you will be captivated by the story, the performances, the attention to detail and okay I admit it, the great Hollywood storytelling majesty to do great movies. Yes, I am one that was totally captivated by this movie that seems divides audiences, some will love it while others will not like it at all.

You have to know the story as its impossible not to know it with all the buzz the movie is having plus the wide marketing. But if by any chance you do not know, the story is quite simple as tells about a man that ages backwards. The story is set in New Orleans from the end of WWI all the way to August 2005 –when Hurricane Katrina washed upon the shores of the Gulf of Mexico and can’t avoid to mention that’s the first movie I see that integrates that awful hurricane into the narrative, even when you do not see anything; but as soon as I realized that the hurricane was coming I got anxious as I didn’t want to see anything related to the hurricane. The story is so powerful and engaging that made me forget about the hurricane and I really appreciate that they show absolutely nothing.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this movie is that when is over, you do not think about the effects or production values, you keep thinking about the characters and all the implications of everything that’s shown and if it happens to you, then you have to recognize that with the unbelievable effects is amazing that one pays more attention to the story and characters than to anything else. That’s what happens with very good movies and yes this one is very good.

Have to mention that at moments the story becomes a little tiring as maybe the moment was expanded too long; but as soon as WWII is over things get intense and so interesting that you can hardly breath as you want to see absolutely every detail. Performances are engaging and nothing less was expected from a cast that includes Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton and Julia Ormond, but have to say that I did enjoyed Brad Pitt performance, this is the kind of role that he does best as his performance has many scenes done with expressions.

But definitively David Fincher did a great job directing this movie with so much care to details, good cinematography, extraordinary effects and great epic storytelling. Bravo! All makes me think that Hollywood is still alive and well, even when lately not so often they do epic masterpieces; but when they do them, they do it extremely well.

I would not be surprised if this movie wins the Oscar for Best Film as has all the elements that the academy likes, critics’ admire and most viewers effortlessly enjoy. As we know there are three movies with the most nominations in the Golden Globes: Doubt, Frost/Nixon and the other is this movie; but only Frost/Nixon and this movie are nominated for Best Motion Picture and I can bet it will win, as from all the nominated movies that I have seen this is the one that’s more complete in every cinematic sense. If you want to learn about the honors the movie has been collecting in the current award season please browse the blog.

Absolutely a must be seen movie that I know I will see many more times when the DVD is released as I know is that kind of movie that you have to see more than once and surely you will find details that you missed the first time.

Enjoy!!!