The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Director:

David Fincher

Writers (WGA):

Eric Roth (screenplay)
Eric Roth (screen story) ...

Release Date:

25 December 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance

Tagline:

Life isn't measured in minutes, but in moments

Plot:

Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with bizarre consequences.

Plot Keywords:

Button | Diary | Aging | New Orleans | Hospital

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 31 wins & 69 nominations

Cast

Cate Blanchett	...	Daisy
Julia Ormond	...	Caroline
Faune A. Chambers	...	Dorothy Baker
Elias Koteas	...	Monsieur Gateau
Donna DuPlantier	...	Blanche Devereux
Jacob Tolano	...	Martin Gateau (as Jacob Wood)
Earl Maddox	...	Man at Train Station
Ed Metzger	...	Teddy Roosevelt
Jason Flemyng	...	Thomas Button
Danny Vinson	...	Priest Giving Last Rites
David Jensen	...	Doctor at Benjamin's Birth
Joeanna Sayler	...	Caroline Button
Taraji P. Henson	...	Queenie
Mahershalalhashbaz Ali	...	Tizzy
Fiona Hale	...	Mrs. Hollister

Also Known As:

Benjamin Button (USA) (working title)
The Curious Case (International: English title) (informal short title)
El curioso caso de Benjamin Button (Argentina) (Peru) (Spain) (Venezuela) [es]
L'étrange histoire de Benjamin Button (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Загадочная история Бенджамина Баттона (Russia) [ru]
Benjamin Button különös élete (Hungary) [hu]
Benjamin Button'in tuhaf hikayesi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Benjamin Buttoni uskumatu elu (Estonia) [et]
Benjamin Buttonin uskomaton elämä (Finland) [fi]
Benjamin Buttons forunderlige liv (Denmark) [da]
Benjamin Buttons otroliga liv (Sweden) [sv]
Ciekawy przypadek Benjamina Buttona (Poland) [pl]
Den fantastiske historien om Benjamin Button (Norway) [no]
Der seltsame Fall des Benjamin Button (Germany) [de]
El extraño caso de Benjamin Button (Venezuela) [es]
I apistefti istoria tou Benjamin Button (Greece) [el]
Il curioso caso di Benjamin Button (Italy) [it]
Neobicna prica Benjamina Buttona (Croatia) [hr]
Neobicni slucaj Bendzamina Batona (Serbia) [sr]
O Curioso Caso de Benjamin Button (Brazil) [pt]
O Estranho Caso de Benjamin Button (Portugal) [pt]
Podivný prípad Benjamina Buttona (Slovakia) [sk]
Podivuhodný prípad Benjamina Buttona (Czech Republic) [cs]
Strania poveste a lui Benjamin Button (Romania) [ro]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief war violence, sexual content, language and smoking.

Runtime:

166 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44743) | Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | UK:12A | Ireland:12A | Czech Republic:12 | Singapore:PG | New Zealand:M | South Korea:12 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Norway:7 | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Brazil:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:6 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Chile:Y7 | Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | Spain:T | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Sweden:11 | Mexico:B | Austria:10 | Denmark:11 | Germany:12 | France:U | Iceland:7 | Sweden:7 | Ireland:12 (blu-ray) | UK:15 (blu-ray)

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Shot using Viper Thomson digital cameras, also used in David Fincher's previous movie, Zodiac (2007/I). However, the close-ups and the hospital scenes were shot in the Sony F-23 cameras, as Fincher noted that the fan built inside the Viper cameras create too much noise that interferes with the dialog.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the wharf scene when Benjamin joins the tugboat crew, two bridges are visible in the background. This event is prior to World War II. The first of these bridges was constructed beginning in 1954 and opened in 1958. The second was begun in 1981 and opened in 1988. Neither was there prior to World War II.

Quotes:

Daisy: And in the spring, 2003, he looked at me. And I knew, that he knew, who I was. And then he closed his eyes, as if to go to sleep.

Movie Connections:

References Carousel (1956)

Soundtrack:

THAT'S A PLENTY

As Time Goes By

I found this to be an interesting film; certainly not boring as I had heard from a few people who saw it in the theater. To me, it was simply good storytelling.

Yes, it's slow, especially by today's movie standards, but it's certainly a unique story and it's nicely filmed, acted and directed. Story-wise, it's one of those films I understand if people love it or hate it. I'm somewhat in the middle and leaning toward the positive.

For a movie that runs for over 2 hours and 40 minutes and is not some suspense or action film, it has to be pretty good to hold one's interest. I can only speak for myself; it held my interest for 95 percent of it.

I think the first two-thirds of the movie is the best. Brad Pitt as "Benjamin Button" is pretty fascinating, as is the story of him growing up from a wrinkled, old man-baby to a mid-40s guy. When he re-unites with childhood friend "Daisy" (Cate Blanchett) and becomes her lover, the film bogs down in a few spots but few people are going to stop watching after investing two hours. It picks up again, especially in the last minutes when "Benjamin" begins to finally become younger than an adult.

There's a sadness to this story, especially near the end but overall, even though it's central theme seems to be "death," I don't think it's a depressing film. It does remind us, in a big way, that the longer we're around, the more death of friends and loved ones we witness. That's just a sad fact of life. I hear about it all time with my father, who is 91 years old and has seen almost all of his friends die.

It's especially true in this story when Benjamin starts off and has a lot of old friends to begin with! "Benjamin" was an odd person to me; you could root for him, yet not admire him. He often treated people only to satisfy his desires and could have been so much more. Yet, being "a fly on the wall" and observing his interesting life, was memorable, making this a film worthy of the time invested to watch it.

In the end, the movie made me appreciate the friends I do have, and not to take any of them for granted as life passes us by so fast, no matter what direction we're headed!