Our pal Craig Kennedy has, by all accounts, written his best review to date (arguably) after having seen Benjamin Button, a film that has, inexplicably, hit people either which way upside the head. Craig writes:
It is this humanity that elevates Benjamin Button artistically above Robert Zemeckis’ Forrest Gump to which Fincher’s film has been frequently and unfairly compared. There are structural similarities and the films share a certain whimsy, but where Forrest Gump the character is used to trace the sweep of history with a sentimental, revisionist and slightly-too-clever-for-it’s-own-good eye, Button turns it around and instead uses the passage of time as a canvas against which a life can be examined in clearer detail. It’s a more introspective and probing film. It is fascinated with life and death, with love and loss, with twists of fate and with the fragility of history.
Living in Cinema has been around just a short time but it’s become one of the more interesting film blogs around. His review, along with the rest of his writing, is a must-read.
66 Responses for "Living in Cinema’s Button Rave"
I just saw Ben Button today. I enjoyed it, but it left me feeling kind of empty in the end. I didn’t get the emotional bang for my buck that I thought I was going to get. It was very good on a technical and performance level, but it just didn’t grab me in any visceral way. My friend who saw it with me said it reminded him of Forrest Gump, and he didn’t know Eric Roth wrote them both. The only performances that I thought were awards calibre were the ones by all the actresses who played Daisy, including the young girls. Pitt did some of the finest work in his career, but I still don’t think it stacks up against a lot of the other actors vying for the prize this year. Same with Henson.
I also saw Rachel Getting Married, and I had a much stronger emotional reaction. I adored this film. It pulled me in right from the get-go, and I was immersed in this family’s relationship. Everything felt so natural and nothing was held back. It was challenging, heartbreaking, and redemptive all at the same time. I now join the chorus of Rosemary Dewitt fans. I also think Debra Winger did a fantastic job with the little screen time she had. Bill Irwin deserves recognition as well–he was utterly believable as the dad who cannot please either of his daughters. and Mather Zickel? Hot hot hot!
I think it’s fascinating that a lot of people feel cold towards ‘Button’ — I’ve had a completely adverse reaction both times I’ve seen it.
Alan of Montreal: approx. three months after seeing ‘Rachel Getting Married’ for the first time, I now feel a bit reserved towards it, after singing its praises immediately after the first viewing. I don’t know, it’s a fine film, It just has a lot of ‘Margot at the Wedding’ in it, a movie I couldn’t even sit through.
Gump > Button
Zemeckis > Fincher
Back to the Future > 99% of everything that came out this year
just saw Button. Still digesting it. Writing a review myself soon.
Brad Pitt now has the key to my heart.
Fincher > Zemeckis
Button > Gump
Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac > any crap Zemeckis has done or CAN do
Chase Khan: Unfortunately, I missed Margot at the Wedding when it came out, so I can’t make the comparison.
I’ve been trying to put my finger on what distinguishes some performances and films from others for me, and i’ve finally hit upon it–gravitas. I feel like the films and perfs that have impressed me have had some element of–as pretentious as it sounds–gravitas to them.
These are my moments of gravitas this year (of the films I’ve seen):
1. In most of The Edge of Heaven, but in particular, the scene of Susanne in her hotel room in Istanbul, and the scene where she meets Ayten at the Turkish prison.
2. In Rachel Getting Married, the scenes where Kim confronts her mother about the past; where Rachel helps bathe and clean up Kim; where Kim talks about her brother in her support group.
3. In Happy-Go-Lucky, when Poppy confronts her student about his bullying, and when she confronts Scott about his anger issues.
4. In The Dark Knight, pretty much every time Heath Ledger was on screen, and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s final scene.
5. In Frozen River, when Ray and Lila go back for the baby; when Ray confronts TJ about the blowtorch; and when Ray makes her final decision.
6. In The Visitor, when Walter plays the drums in Washington Square for the first time; when he discovers what’s happened to Tarek; when Walter talks to Tarek in the detention centre for the first time; when Zainab and Mouna find out that Tarek has been caught.
7. In The Necessities of Life, when Tiivii tries to escape the sanitorium through the snow and what happens to him afterwards; all his scenes with Kaki; when Tiivii discovers what has happened to Kaki; and when Tiivii talks to his wife on the phone for the first time.
8. In Ben Button, the scenes with Daisy in the last quarter of the film.
9. In I’ve Loved You so Long, the final confrontation between Juliette and Lea.
10. In WALL-E, all scenes before WALL-E meets Eve.
11. In Kung Fu Panda, the scene where Shifu recounts and reflects on his relationship with Tai-Lung
just saw this today..no doubt the movie is BEAUTIFUL but there was something missing in it..i dunno what it is…
i think BRAD will be overlooked again…it’s one of his best performance..
it will be a BP nominee but i think it won’t win….
hey remember when cold mountain got snubbed for best pic? here’s predicting a repeat (for button) this year.
It’s 2007 all over again…
Even as it dances between visual styles and color palettes (the Blanchett portions are Felliniesque black and white, the Ledger chapters are filled with rich greens, the Gere segments sooty and brown), there remains something inexplicably cold about “I’m Not There.” I deeply respect its intentions, admire both its filmmaker and its subject, but have very little affection for the finished product.
- Matt Singer, IFC News
But I say: Benjamin Button, I’m Not There = smoking HOT.
‘I’m Not There’ was a tremendous movie, and so was ‘Assassination of Jesse James’ — both had their fair share of critics.
People keep saying something was missing – it’s interesting to hear – we’re all so different in how we react to movies. I felt there was something missing with The English Patient. Everyone was crying around me and I was like, that was so bad. I enjoy the movie now but it has never once made me cry. Titanic was another film I enjoyed but stayed dry-eyed throughout, even at the end. I’m Not There remains one of the most memorable theatrical experiences of my life. Seriously, that has to be one of the most brilliant films ever made. Anyway, Button was probably one of the most emotional experiences at the movies – Slumdog comes pretty close, Man on Wire, The Wrestler, Wall-E, Milk, Revolutionary Road, all hit pretty hard too. But no film made me sob like Button did, especially at the end.
Saw TCCoBB last night.
I also came away feeling somewhat empty. I really liked the last visual in the move …. very special, indeed. Very thought-provoking.
And I was almost moved to tears seeing Daisy walking with the toddler.
But overall, it was a loonnnggg, but pretty, decently acted, & impressive film that isn’t even in my Top 15 right now.
I just wasn’t emotionally walloped.
I’m actually glad to read that so many others (here) shared my sense of emptiness from this film. And the pain in my butt. I seemed really, REALLY long. And although the comparison to Forrest Gump may seem inaccurate, at least that film’s use of history was entertaining.
The film didn’t pick up until he went to sea and what was that, like an hour into it? The best scenes – and those with the greatest emotion it seemed for Benjamin – were not with Daisy but were with Elizabeth Abbott (Tilda Swinton).
And as much has been written Taraji P. Henson’s performance I found it to be a caricature. After the first half hour or so, every time she came on screen I heard people start to giggle. In part she added some very necessary comic relief to a very somber film. But it also bothered me that the theater with a pretty white crowd was laughing at a stereotype.
The final scenes were touching. But by then I was so focused on looking at how they did the make-up and FX to create the sense of age, and was weary of the concept.
Paul Outlaw, even though the reviews for I’m Not There were lukewarm, it was justly rewarded when it came to end of the year lists. Take a look at this poll.
http://www.indiewire.com/critics2007/
I’m Not There is voted 6th Best Film, Blanchett No.1 in Supp Performance, 4th in Best Director(my choice for Best Director Oscar last year), 6th in Screenplay & 8th in Cinematography.
Button has performed really miserably for the same poll this year.
http://www.indiewire.com/movies/2008/12/critics_poll_08.html
I don’t really see an analogy here.
I saw the movie yesterday with my mom, and though I had heard of the Forrest Gump comparison, unaware that Eric Roth wrote both screenplays, I very clearly set aside that thought when I entered the theater (though given the high praise for this film even now, I am frustrated with the poor reception of Australia and the still meager Best Picture prospects of Wall-E).
And while I really enjoyed and admired Ben Button, I mostly wasn’t moved by it the way my mom was. In fact, she said the same thing Craig Kennedy wrote in his review, but I disagree: The “gimmicky” aspects of Forrest Gump (i.e. seeing him intersect with the likes of Elvis and Nixon) were a small though enjoyable aspect of the film’s success. Much more vital was the heartwarming storyline, strong performances, and pacing. Consider:
-Sally Field > Taraji P. Henson
-Gary Sinise > Button’s frequently inaudible triggerboat friend
-I *did* like Tilda Swinton and thought that added something to the formula
-Forrest and Jenny had more chemistry than Brad and Cate (though they did a very good job too)
-The scenes with Forrest and Jenny as children were more affecting and meaningful than the brief scenes with young Ben & Daisy
-The button motif never added much to the movie like I thought it would
Forrest Gump kept moving briskly, while Button did labor about a bit, which would have been perfectly fine if there was more of an emotional wallop at the end. Basically, I would give Button 4 stars out of 5 (and Gump 5). There was much to admire, and I will not be upset if the film is nominated for or even wins Best Picture.
But to think it’s the most clever film in years like my mom did is to give it too much credit. It was certainly a brilliant premise, but the execution itself while great is nothing novel. There were too many plot points (SPOILERS: Queenie’s fate, Daisy’s changing attitude toward Button as her childhood fantasies unraveled) that too directly paralleled Forrest Gump and/or were too predictable from the get-go for the striking direction to compensate for. Even somewhat diminished expectations didn’t save me from feeling a little disappointed considering the brilliance of a few of the film’s key sequences involving Daisy dancing and spinning around in the street, the clock, etc.
Ironically, I am watching Bend It Like Beckham right now and just saw a commercial for The Lake House, where Keanu and Sandra are writing each other from different years. I’m wondering how unoriginal and unimpressive that movie really is.
I have not read Craig’s review of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, as I want to see the film first, but I do want to echo Sasha’s praise for Craig, his writing and his website. He writes excellent reviews that describe the essence of films. And LiC is always impressively run by its host and creator. A singularly terrific place to discuss cinema.
I saw it last night, Brad Pitt was phenomenal, probably his best performance to date. I absolutely loved it, granted when Daisy came back into his life years later, it got a little bumpy but overall one of the best films of the year. It will get nominated i’m sure, but win….i’ve yet to see Slumdog Millionaire and Milk
@ Tufas (5)
Come on, man. You can’t compare these two filmmakers. They’re both COMPLETLY different. I will admit, Zemeckis has made some pretty bad movies (I’ll never understand the phenomenom that was ‘Romancing the Stone’) but he’s made some great movies as well (‘Who framed Roger Rabbit’ is untouchable.)
Lesson here: don’t compare someone (or something) to something it’s not.
Hear, hear for Craig!
And as much has been written Taraji P. Henson’s performance I found it to be a caricature.
HaroldsMaude: I feel it’s the other way around. To me, Henson has done the best she could — which is a lot — with a role that’s pretty much a stock character. I feel the same way about Captain Mike, where the actor did well with a role that’s stereotypical.
On the other hand, I reacted positively to the film overall. I don’t feel there’s anything missing, as some do. I appreciate BB for what it is rather than lament over what it isn’t. Someone else can go make that film.
And I totally agree with Sasha about the quality of Craig Kennedy’s review. He provides excellent rationale to support his strong appreciation of the film.
red_wine, the Indiewire list doesn’t mean much in terms of the subject of this website where we’re posting right now. And as I recall, I’m Not There, my #1 of last year, was almost completely dissed (except for Blanchett) during awards season. Benjamin Button, my (tied for) #1 this year, is getting a very similar critical reception and I have been fearing for its Oscar chances from day one. Both films are divisive, visual masterpieces by maverick directors. How can you not see the analogy? If audiences embrace Button, that will make the difference. But I don’t expect that to happen. This is not Panic Room or Se7en, after all.
“If audiences embrace Button, that will make the difference.”
Benjamin Button earned more on Christmas Day ($11.7 mil) than I’m Not There earned during its entire run, worldwide ($11.5 mil). I’ve heard estimates that Benjamin Button could conceivably pass $100 mill by the 1st or 2nd week in January. Panic Room’s domestic total topped out at $96 mil.
I think the box office is gonna be there for Benjamin Button — all the more extraordinary, because as you say, Paul, it’s really a visionary work of art and not the easiest movie of the year to appreciate without opening one’s head and heart wider than is normally required this time of year.
[You're just going to tease us and make us guess what tied CCoBB for #1 on your personal Top 10?]
Zach writes:
“-Sally Field > Taraji P. Henson
-Gary Sinise > Button’s frequently inaudible triggerboat friend
-I *did* like Tilda Swinton and thought that added something to the formula
-Forrest and Jenny had more chemistry than Brad and Cate (though they did a very good job too)
-The scenes with Forrest and Jenny as children were more affecting and meaningful than the brief scenes with young Ben & Daisy
-The button motif never added much to the movie like I thought it would
Forrest Gump kept moving briskly, while Button did labor about a bit, which would have been perfectly fine if there was more of an emotional wallop at the end. Basically, I would give Button 4 stars out of 5 (and Gump 5). There was much to admire, and I will not be upset if the film is nominated for or even wins Best Picture.”
I couldn’t agree with this summary more.
As a counterpoint to red_wine and indiewire, I took a look at the Top 10 movies of the year on MCN (Movie City News), compiled by the top ten lists of critics as they roll in. Currently Ben Button is ranked #7 movie of the year by the cumulative critic lists.
The Top 10 so far: 1) Wall-E 2) Milk 3) The Dark Knight 4) Slumdog Millionaire 5) The Wrestler 6) Rachel Getting Married 7) Ben Button
Happy-Go-Lucky 9) Let the Right One In and 10) A Christmas Tale.
Frost/Nixon is listed at #14, and Doubt is a comparitively low #29.
These results kind of run counter to the idea that Button isn’t scoring with critics or that it’s belly-flopping. #7 out of God knows how many movies released this year is pretty good, isn’t it? There must be support somewhere. Also, Ben Button’s box-office is pretty good in the first two days of release. I think it’s made about $22 million in two days of release (Thursday and Friday). Once Saturday and Sunday results are tallied in, the movie should have a $35-40 million opening weekend (granted its weekend is four days instead of three). Not blockbuster numbers, given how much the movie cost to make, but a good start, it seems.
I still think Ben Button looks in good shape for Oscar. High nods from Critic’s Choice, Globes, and SAG. Respectable to good box office returns on its opening weekend. #7 on MCN’s cumulative critics rankings. And it will probably do well with the upcoming guild nominations.
Now I just have to see the damned thing!
Thanks Robert. It’s kinda fascinating how these myths get seeded and try to take root. (The same thing happened with the supposedly “mixed reviews” for Gran Torino. The reviews weren’t mixed at all. They were petty much all B’s and C’s. Not a single perfect A. Not a single D or F.)
Also maybe interesting to note (though no surprise): The Curious Case of Benjamin Button landed on the IMDb Top 250 today at #129.
Plenty of people enjoy a good smirk at that distinction, but take a look at the movies from 2008 that have earned it:
#4 – The Dark Knight
#34 – WALL-E
#105 – Slumdog Millionaire
#129 – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
#146 – The Wrestler
#187 – Milk
#233 – In Bruges
#238 – Let the Right One In
Go ahead and mock, you Top250-mockers. But aren’t these all the movies we agree have a reasonable shot at Best Picture? Do you know how hard it is to be nominated for BP and not make the IMDb Top 250? Ask Michael Clayton, the only IMDb absentee from last year.
[also interesting, at least to me: Slumdog Millionaire first appeared at #228. It's climbing, day by day -- a very good trend.]
I’m still crossing my fingers for “Revolutionary Road” — I want to be blown away, damn it! But for reality’s sake, I shall diminish my expectations substantially. I didn’t do this for Button which, based on the magnificent trailer and fantastic premise, I thought would leave me catatonic with its greatness. No such luck. So lesson learned.
Revolutionary Road is exquisite, Dorothy. Knowing your affection for Kate, I don’t see any way you’ll be disappointed. Dial back expectations for Michael Shannon a little bit, and you’ll leave happy. He’s very fine. He’s just not the Joker-blocker everybody was saying he might be.
When I first saw Benjamin Button, my first reaction was that it would perform strongly, maybe not to the extent that Gump did, but strong nonetheless. Today’s numbers suggest BB will do fine with audiences.
In fact, in terms of awards potential, it’s better for a film’s chances if it’s not a financial blockbuster (as many of us are aware). Good box office helps, but over-the-top box office typically tends to create a kind of backlash awardswise, though exceptions to this rule do occur (Titanic, for example).
Joker-blocker, ha! I’m comforted by the fact that both you and Sasha liked it a lot. I hope it is this year’s “Atonement” and it’s only flying under the radar at most awards now, only to make a grandiose entry to the Kodak theater.
My only regret about Revolutionary Road is that several key scenes from the novel that balanced Frank’s side of story were lost in translation. So the movie becomes more April-centric, and that’s fine. I understand why the choice had to be made. I wouldn’t trim anything that’s in the movie now, so to add more of Frank’s story would wreck the pacing and drag things out too long. That was the only time I felt a letdown. When a scene I was looking forward to got skipped. Really pained me when one chapter in particular went missing.
Ok, lets pretend “Roger Rabbit” wasn’t mentioned in the same breath as “Se7en” for a bit and change subject.
Something I’ve been meaning to ask:
Whatever happened to “The Road”? Did it premiere? Did people like it?
T.
[You're just going to tease us and make us guess what tied CCoBB for #1 on your personal Top 10?]
Oh, I thought that was common knowledge.
Tied for #1, not in any order:
Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
WALL-E
Milk
Also in the top 10: The Wrestler, I’ve Loved You So Long, Trouble the Water, Che, Synecdoche NY.
Barely in the top 20: Slumdog Millionaire (although I really liked it).
In the top 40: In Bruges, Married Life, Doubt, Frost/Nixon.
Not such a bad year, actually,
aha, Tufas, but what about Castaway and Zodiac?
The Road release is postponed. Editing adjustments, post-production refinements, whatever, we don’t know. I haven’t read anywhere that anyone’s seen it. Viggo is quoted from a couple of weeks ago:
Just got in from seeing this. Awesome movie. I literally cried through the last 30 minutes.
Ok, granted, Castaway was decent. Zodiac is a masterpiece.
Music? The Road has music? Erm.
Ok.. roll on 2009
Thx Ryan!
T.
oh. Forgot to use the sarcasm font.
I thought Castaway was a muddled dud.
Agree, though, that Zodiac is a masterpiece
After finally seeing this great movie I can say only one thing – Mr Ebert, YOU WERE SO WRONG!
The premise of his review was that story like Benjamin’s can never happen because “things just don’t work that way in life”. And I would like to ask him – How do you know, Mr Ebert??? Despite being scientifically impossible, the backward aging shown in the movie is just as believable as real life. In fact, Fincher shows us that no matter how we age, life is still the same, always as short and unpredictable. It’s a movie to be felt, a movie that everyone has to see because it’s just as close to a description of life as possible.
There are so many things that make this movie classic-worthy, and so many themes upon which Fincher has touched that I just can’t put all this into one right now. But fact is Cate Blanchett steals the show once again, Pitt is also great but I would put him just a little lower.
Saw this movie with friends and family and we were all blown away. It’s funny moments surprised us and was a welcome relieve at times. It was sad in places but I didn’t out and out cry until the last 30-40 minutes.
The whole cast was fantastic, but have to say I was drawn mostly towards Benjamin, Tilda’s character and I truly felt sorry for the father. As she got older I was a little “turned off” by Daisy! Julia Ormond and Taraji Henson gave very good performances too but you were left feeling a little irritated with their apparent selfishness in places.
Altogether a film that definitely deserves the buzz.
Oh and I didn’t see a resemblance with Gump at all, the only connection in my mind is that Roth wrote both plays!
I agree with Alan of Montreal and those who were impressed by the aesthetic values of “Button”, but were underwhelmed by the emotional content. “Button”, to me is this year’s “Big Fish” with some Forrest Gump thrown in as well, minus the emotional connection. “Button” suffers from the same weak device of “Big Fish”: the Julia Ormond/Billy Crudup characters who seem to serve little purpose other than to give an excuse for a storyteller-like exposition.
Sorry, but “Gump” is a classic. It may be a tad sentimental, but what some call sentiment I call charm. I cared deeply about Lieutenant Dan, Gump and Jenny. Benjamin Button himself seemed like a cypher, going through the motions of life and interacting with everyone, but seeming emotionally unmoved by any of it. This was severely disappointing, especially knowing the emotional range of which Pitt is capable.
Overall, a big letdown. It seems that Fincher has found his weak spot in “Button”. While he is great with the crime-driven, gritty thriller, he doesn’t have the heart and humor necessary to elevate “Button” beyond an interesting experiment. I agree that Blanchett is really the only thing noteworthy here. Pitt has done far better, more interesting work.
“Pitt has done far better, more interesting work.”
In which of these films did Brad Pitt give a performance as physically expressive, vocally specific, mature, heartbreaking, economical, charismatic and enigmatic as the one in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button?
Burn After Reading
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Ocean’s Thirteen
Babel
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Ocean’s Twelve
Troy
Full Frontal
Ocean’s Eleven
Spy Game
The Mexican
Snatch
Fight Club
Meet Joe Black
The Dark Side of the Sun
Seven Years in Tibet
The Devil’s Own
Sleepers
Twelve Monkeys
Legends of the Fall
Interview with the Vampire
True Romance
Kalifornia
A River Runs Through It
Cool World
Johnny Suede
Thelma & Louise
That which struck me most about Benjamin Button was the cinematography. What a beautifully shot movie! However, I must echo the sentiment of others on this thread by saying that I just couldn’t connect with the characters in this movie. I lived the movie along with Forest, and Lieutenant Dan, and Jen-nay. When Forest is standing at the grave of his beloved Jennie I was just utterly and completely absorbed into the movie. I felt it. It had drawn me out of reality and into another world. I just watched Benjamin Button from the comfort of my seat in the movie theatre and that’s where I remained. Similarly, I cared about Wall-E, he came to life. In watching The Dark Knight I was utterly transfixed from beginning to end in becoming the only movie I’ve ever seen three times in the first two weeks it was released. I must add though that I do not agree with Roger Ebert’s review of Ben Button. Two and a 1/2 stars? Really Ebert? This may not be the years best movie but it was definitely one of the best. I give it 3 1/2 stars for sure. Cate Blanchett is just one of the most beautiful women on the planet. She gets three stars all by herself.
Well, I’ve seen these flicks:
Slumdog
Wall-E
Ben Button
TDK
Burn after Reading
Of these, TDK has the edge over Wall-E for Best Picture imho.
Pitt was much, much better in Burn after Reading but has no chance vs Ledger
Slumdog wouldn’t even make my top 10 for the year.
What I plan to see:
The Wrestler
Revolutionary Road
Gran Torino
Frozen River
Wendy and Lucy
What I have little interest in seeing:
Doubt
Milk
Frost/Nixon
The above three qualify in that category of “most of us slept, but one or two wept…and they happen to be critics”
Kennedy is clearly an industry stooge!
Funny thing is Dorothy, I’m going to go out on limb and guess you’ll love Rev Road (TM Ryan Adams) and in the end we’ll have Button and Road reversed. You loving Road and disappointed (but liking) Button and me loving Button and disappointed (but liking) Road. Tomato – Tomahto and all that, right?
Ryan’s kind of right about Shannon though. But I don’t blame Shannon. The character kind of bugged me….it was just too pat to have a crazy guy in the movie who has more sense than any of the supposedly sane people. I get it, but it seemed too obvious.
Having said that, the cinematography and performances were outstanding.
I suspect as much, Craig. Not too shabby to be the potato to your potahto.
Lets not lose sight that Button is a bit of a curiosity (yay, puns!) since more often than not I end up agreeing with you (TDK, WALL-E, Chop Shop, Burn After Reading, The Visitor, etc.).
Pierre de Plume (#20), I understand your point about Taraji Henson making the most of a weakly drawn character. And maybe because the tone of the film overall was so somber her liveliness stood out. There was real heart there (not as much as Sally Field as FG’s mother, but then we’re dispensing with those comparisons aren’t we?) & Benjamin’s scenes with his mother were some of the most touching of the film.
As I read the increasingly divided comments on this film, I am reminded of the Atonement camp divisions last year. As with that one, while I can appreciate many technical aspects of the film, the emotional wallop factor just wasn’t there.
Brian,
Do let me try to persuade you to see the three films on your ‘not interested’ list. Believe me that more than the critics were ‘weeping’ when I saw them. Milk, in particular, is amazing.
Hate to break the parade of unabashed love, but come on….really? The movie was shallow, completely out of touch with actual history (black people and white people living in hunky dory harmony in the south in the 20s and 30s?), and above all, the dialogue was an epic fail. And just because bad symbolism works in one context doesn’t mean it naturally applies in another.
Yes, it’s a tear jerker love story, but nobody had a problem with its lack of context? I don’t have a problem placing a story out of reality, but then why the random historical references. Why frame the movie using Katrina? Why have a completely useless Pitt and Blanchett romping to the Beatles sequence? Why show them watching a space rocket lift off?
More over, why set up so many promising premises then provide montages and voice over summations of what actually happened instead of providing the audience with dialogue that has depth and develops character?
I agree, Harry. There were a lot of sequences and actions that seemed to carry some sort of symbolic significance, but didn’t seem to make much sense. The whole clock thing was interesting, if not a bit silly. Framing it around Katrina was odd, I suppose it’s to help us understand that they’re still in New Orleans, and perhaps the death of Daisy coincides with the “death” of New Orleans as we once knew it?
Paul, you’re asking me to debate an opinion. I didn’t find his performance in “Button” particularly affecting. I found his few minutes in “Babel” to be a lot more interesting. That said, he did well in “Button”, but my main complaints with the film were with the writing. It’s a shame, because I usually love Eric Roth’s scripts.
Let me go back and emphasize I did not by any means hate this movie or think it was bad. I just think there are some rather massive holes in the film and some crater sized missed opportunities the script did not take advantage of. And while there has been plenty I didn’t like about Eric Roth’s work in the past, the one thing I did not expect from something he wrote would be the feeling of his script being vastly under researched. If you’re not interested in historical accuracies do not go out of your way to insert history into the story. End of rant.
I didn’t know Benjamin Button was supposed to be a documentary Harry. In that case, I change my mind. The movie sucked.
I really thought there was a guy who aged backwards and I’m super pissed the whole thing was just a lie.
“Why have a completely useless Pitt and Blanchett romping to the Beatles sequence? Why show them watching a space rocket lift off?”
Why show two robots circling each other in outer space? Seriously? That’s your argument? And maybe it’s time to retire “epic fail.” Just a thought.
Harry — what exactly? You mention massive holes, missed opportunities, and the under-researched history…specifics please?
I read Devin Faraci on the Hollywoodelsewhere site claim that ‘Button’ didn’t answer any questions about what it would REALLY be like to live backwards, he didn’t give any examples, either. He also believes ‘Punisher: War Zone’ is a better film than ‘Benjamin Button’.
Yeah, I think Devin needs to get busy living before he can accurately judge a film like Button. It’s possible that movies just go over their heads and that in twenty years they’ll go, oh, okay. So that’s what all the fuss is about. Maybe, maybe not. Who knows.
I think Harry nailed it for me:
“More over, why set up so many promising premises then provide montages and voice over summations of what actually happened instead of providing the audience with dialogue that has depth and develops character?”
Gosh, there were SO many edits in this movie. I don’t think one shot lasted more than 4-5 seconds. I don’t know. It completely prevented me from being immersed in anything for very long (whether it was a particular shot or a stretch of dialogue, or a glance, etc.). I wasn’t as connected with the story/characters as I believe I should have been. Lots of visuals were pretty. I wanted to hang on them for a while. But then the narrative swiftly moved to something else. Lots of characters start to say something, but then stop short, or don’t say anything meaningful, at all. I needed a bit more depth/character arcs.
But that’s just me. I seems a lot of people LOVED this movie. And it seems A LOT of people feel similarly to me. It’s still a very good movie. No doubt.
We all no klunkers when we see them. This isn’t one. But it is not quite Best Picture-worthy in my mind.
This is a very fine film. I’d be happy to see it win best picture. The only contender I’ve liked better this year is Milk.
While it shares some of Gump’s screenplay flaws, Button is far superior, thanks to Fincher and Blanchett and everyone else involved. I found Gump to be shallow and (pardon the term) stupid. Gump was a mess of superficial slogans; Button is a gorgeous rumination on what it means to be human.
That said, I wish they’d done a better job with Queenie. But Taraji’s warmth almost managed to redeem the caricature.
The box office for BB has been great so far. It should be able to pull in strong support from the tech/craft branches of AMPAS, unlike Cold Mountain (a Civil War story by a British director, starring an Aussie and a Brit, and filmed in Romania). As I recall, there was an email campaign by Hollywood craftspeople asking AMPAS not to vote for Cold Mountain. I think Button, by contrast, will be a big favorite with the tech branches. Since Slumdog has a British/Indian crew and not much of a Hollywood connection, it may suffer with the tech and craft branches unless they totally love it, which is possible. Should be an interesting race.
I agree with Sasha, Benjamin Button is not a movie that gives you all the insights right away, you have to go look for them. What makes it so special is that it’s basically revolutionary in the ideas it presents, it’s not something seen in the last years. Of course, it’s based on a Fitzgerald short story, but even without having read that story I’m sure Fincher adds a lot more to it that just the plain old story.
Maybe Brad Pitt doesn’t make as startling performance as many expected, unlike Cate who is as perfect and real as ever, but I think that the main actor in the movie is life itself – the way it passes, either backwards or forward, and the little things that make all the difference like sailing to the end of the world or seeing a shuttle lift off in the sky. I think that people who fail to see the merits of the movie don’t look in the right places, because it’s impossible not to sympathize with something that concerns all of us, unless you are looking for a simple drama with trivial theatrical performances. It’s much more than that, and I’m afraid the Academy won’t even care to go look at it properly, since they have gone completely offshore in the last years. It’s not like in the old times, when they would make one error in a long time like robbing Marlon Brando for Streetcar. In the past 10 years, every year there have been mistakes – Crash wasn’t the best movie, Babel shouldn’t have even be nominated, Clive Owen shouldn’t have suffered because Morgan Freeman needed a “lifetime achievement” award, etc, etc. Most importantly, the Academy has forgotten the beauty of cinema, they have trends and favorites, and if the majority of viewers would hate a movie like No Country, they still wouldn’t care and name it Best Picture. So brace yourselves that neither Bejamin Button nor The Dark Knight are gonna win, so that you won’t feel utterly disappointed after the awards.
(black people and white people living in hunky dory harmony in the south in the 20s and 30s?),
Ever been to New Orleans? It isn’t/wasn’t “hunky dory harmony,” but it has also never been like anywhere else in this country as far as race is concerned. As an adopted New Orleanian, I can’t imagine this story being told anywhere else. And I loved the framing device. To tell you the truth, I’m very surprised that so many people find the film as affecting as I did, because I feel as if it had been made especially for me.
I think it’s rather unfair–or perhaps incongruous is a better word–to compare I’m Not There with Ben Button. They’re too completely different films. Ben Button was obviously made to be a crowd pleaser, albeit in an artful way, while I’m Not There was much more of a uncompromisingly personal endeavour by an artist. I’m Not There was not designed to win Oscars, whereas one could most certainly argue that Ben Button was. The only thing the two films really have in common are Cate Blanchett giving great performances.
The comparison between Ben Button and Big Fish was spot on. I had thought the exact same thing as I was watching the film, but forgot to mention that in my assessment. I also think the remark about the unrealistically friendly relations between whites and blacks in New Orleans during the first half of the film was also very astute. I realize that the film is a fantasy, but there are just some things that are harder to swallow than others.
On a lighter note, I found it interesting that Brad Pitt managed to reunite with three actresses that he’d previously worked with on three separate films–Blanchett (Babel), Swinton (Burn After Reading) and Ormond (Legends of the Fall). I love the fact, too, that Ormond’s career has been revived by this film–I always thought that she was a classy actress who was never really given the right material to show her acting chops.
Does anyone think Che is going to get any Oscar attention at the last minute?
SPOILER ALERT
One thing that bothered me plot-wise was the last act of the film–Daisy is recounting the final years of Ben Button as he eventually turns back into a baby (I think he should have been a much wrinklier baby when he died, personally). At one point, she mentions she moved into the senior’s home to care for him during those years. Where was Caroline during this time? Did she never visit her mother? How could she not have known that Daisy was caring for a strange child? The other main thing that bothered me was that I felt like Ben Button’s “peak years” lasted too long in terms of his appearance. That is to say that Daisy did appear to be aging, while BB appeared to remain the same age for many years instead of looking more youthful over time.
Faraci is a funny guy and he’s top notch when it comes to genre pictures and the fanboy stuff, but his Button criticism sounds like a satire of someone completely missing the point.
Alan, I got the sense there was a degree of estrangement between Caroline and Daisy so it wouldn’t be a surprise if they weren’t in touch during the last couple of years of Benjamin’s life. And why should he have been wrinklier?
As for Che…purely a guess on my part, but I don’t think it’s going to get any Oscar loving…not even for Benicio Del Toro which is too bad.
I think it’s rather unfair–or perhaps incongruous is a better word–to compare I’m Not There with Ben Button. They’re too completely different films. Ben Button was obviously made to be a crowd pleaser, albeit in an artful way, while I’m Not There was much more of a uncompromisingly personal endeavour by an artist. I’m Not There was not designed to win Oscars, whereas one could most certainly argue that Ben Button was. The only thing the two films really have in common are Cate Blanchett giving great performances.
Well, I’ve been called incongruous before, Alan, so I don’t have a problem with that.
Of course they’re two different films. I make the comparison because they are both my personal favorites of their years and both have been criticized for being remote, cold, too intellectual, etc. etc. I find them both passionate, personal and visionary. I was moved by both. And whether or not either one was designed to win Oscars was not my point; I am doubting Button’s chances — like I’m Not There — to actually win any.
And Blanchett is so different in the two films that I don’t even think of her in the comparison.
The BENJAMIN BUTTON review that Craig Kennedy wrote at LIC was indeed one of the best he has ever penned (to get back to the original subject of Sasha’s e mail! LOL!!) and I can say I am on the same page with him on nearly every point. When Craig is passionate about something his talent really shines.
As far as REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, I agree that it’s exquisite and rather exceeds expectations.
craig gets refed !!!!!!
great movie,great fincher and great pitt.
hi Paul Outlaw,
actually, my comment was more directed at Ryan in his box office comparison of the two films. Sorry, I should have been clearer.
Alan
good to read one more good review of this film…
i really think this film should be given a credit it deserves…
fincher, brad pitt, eric roth, and all crew.. worked so hard to give us this film…
im really looking forward to seeing this film here in the Philippines on January 08…..
Thanks for the clarification, A of M.
Saw BB yesterday with my mother. She was crying by the end and I was stricken silent (which hasn’t happened since the last LOTR film). Fincher and Pitt have created not only a great film, but a living work of art. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if this won big on Oscar night (as it richly deserves it).
As to the comparisons to Forrest Gump, let me say first that I very much liked FG (mostly b/c of Hanks, Sinise, Field, and Wright). However, BB is a far better film in that it shows both the good and the bad in Button’s life and avoids the excessive mushiness. There’s so much else I could say, but I am still at a loss for words.
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