Spring Break
'Benjamin Button' brilliantly disturbing rather than curious
Though dark and sometimes unsettling, the film is a triumph rather than a
by Justine Root
Arts Editor
Arts | 1/13/09
Posted online at 12:55 AM EST on 1/13/09
The title of this film is deceptively innocent; personally, when I hear the word "curious," I envision relatively harmless hijinks as committed by a (damn dirty) ape. However, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is anything but innocent, though at times this is not so much the fault of the movie as it is that of the modern conditions surrounding its release. In a day and age when incidents of pedophilia are rampant, there is something unsettling about the depiction of an elderly man hiding under the sheets with a young girl that is not his granddaughter, or that of an old woman kissing a toddler on the lips (particularly when said toddler is her former lover).
Of course, such instances seem ever more disquieting when the viewer is unaware of the context in which they take place. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which is loosely based on a 1921 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, relates the life Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt), a man who was born elderly and proceeds to age backwards. The story is told by Benjamin via his diary, which is being read by Caroline (Julia Ormond) to her dying mother, Daisy (Cate Blanchett). As it turns out, Benjamin is Daisy's old flame, and the result is that Caroline's reading takes on a certain awkwardness, particularly when she comes across passages that bring to light the fact that Caroline's mother frequently threw herself at Benjamin and bragged to him about her various sexual exploits with other, older men.
Indeed, the entirety of the film is vaguely disconcerting; Benjamin, though appearing to be a typical southern gentleman, occasionally withholds his true age as a way by which to partake in otherwise forbidden activities (e.g., going to a brothel and accepting drinks from well-meaning acquaintances).
In reality, though, there's nothing wrong with the film's dark tone. In fact, Benjamin's story, which could have easily come across as a mere gimmick were it sugar-coated, is instead more effective because it is treated with a heavier hand. The characters are believably flawed, displaying fickleness in the face of love and practicing intentional pettiness. And, the startling, ominous imagery-like the resurrection of soldiers on the battlefield by a clock that runs backward-lends a sense of gravity to a film about the implications of age and the impermanence of life.
Of course, such instances seem ever more disquieting when the viewer is unaware of the context in which they take place. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which is loosely based on a 1921 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, relates the life Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt), a man who was born elderly and proceeds to age backwards. The story is told by Benjamin via his diary, which is being read by Caroline (Julia Ormond) to her dying mother, Daisy (Cate Blanchett). As it turns out, Benjamin is Daisy's old flame, and the result is that Caroline's reading takes on a certain awkwardness, particularly when she comes across passages that bring to light the fact that Caroline's mother frequently threw herself at Benjamin and bragged to him about her various sexual exploits with other, older men.
Indeed, the entirety of the film is vaguely disconcerting; Benjamin, though appearing to be a typical southern gentleman, occasionally withholds his true age as a way by which to partake in otherwise forbidden activities (e.g., going to a brothel and accepting drinks from well-meaning acquaintances).
In reality, though, there's nothing wrong with the film's dark tone. In fact, Benjamin's story, which could have easily come across as a mere gimmick were it sugar-coated, is instead more effective because it is treated with a heavier hand. The characters are believably flawed, displaying fickleness in the face of love and practicing intentional pettiness. And, the startling, ominous imagery-like the resurrection of soldiers on the battlefield by a clock that runs backward-lends a sense of gravity to a film about the implications of age and the impermanence of life.
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coffee
posted 1/18/09 @ 11:02 PM EST
it was a little weird to see an old version of Brad Pitt's face pasted onto a kid's body, but i guess that's why they call it a "curious case"
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