MOVIE: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

[Epistemes]

Has anyone else seen this film? If so, what did you think?

I went and saw it yesterday. I must admit that I am rather fond of most films which Brad Pitt stars in, such as “Meet Joe Black” or “The Assassination of Jesse James…”, and this one did not let me down, either. Cate Blanchett did not disappoint either, and was absolutely perfect for the role, serving as the classic-faced Hollywood diva vis a vis Katherine Hepburn. It was overly long, yes, and could have been edited because I think the central theme and effect of the movie was delivered well enough within the first 3/4 of the film, however I was so entranced that even though I desperately needed to use the restroom I couldn’t force myself to leave the theater.

Even though the film operates almost completely outside the realm of God and religion, which is no surprise for Hollywood, giving more credence to pluralism and New Age beliefs, it does raise some particularly poignant questions regarding time, change, life, death and all the people we meet in-between.

 

[peregrinator_it]

Has anyone else seen this film? If so, what did you think?

I am not a big Brad Pitt fan (out of lack of familiarity: he’s in a lot of movies that aren’t terribly appealing to me) but I have a housemate who swears up and down that Brad Pitt’s a really good actor given a good director- so I went to see this movie out of curiosity.

I have to admit I wasn’t hugely disappointed nor was I at all impressed. The premise of the story was interesting and I’d now like to read the short story it was based on.

Overall I found it … insubstantial. Just my $.02…

Spoilers*

I know the film operated outside the realm of religion, but really was it necessary to make so little distinction between the characters? You get the impression that you’re supposed to have as much admiration for Benjamin (I just don’t buy his “justification” for walking out on Daisy & Caroline) as you are for Queenie, who did a truly noble thing and never looked back. I don’t like that.

Also, the were only a few moments in the film that felt like they took place in the real world (when the Uboat surfaces, for example) and they stood out like the clean spots that appear when you wipe something off the kitchen floor that hasn’t been mopped in a while.