The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (film)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Promotional poster
Directed by	David Fincher
Produced by	Kathleen Kennedy Frank Marshall Cean Chaffin
Written by	Screenplay: Eric Roth Screen story: Eric Roth Robin Swicord Short story: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Starring	Brad Pitt Cate Blanchett Taraji P. Henson Julia Ormond Jason Flemyng Tilda Swinton Jared Harris Mahershalalhashbaz Ali Rampai Mohadi Phyllis Somerville Edith Ivey Elias Koteas
Music by	Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography	Claudio Miranda
Editing by	Kirk Baxter Angus Wall
Studio	Warner Bros. Pictures Paramount Pictures The Kennedy/Marshall Company
Distributed by	North America: Paramount Pictures Non-North America: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s)	December 25, 2008
Running time	166 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English Russian French
Budget	$160,000,000[1] (est.)
Gross revenue	$333,932,083[2]

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a 2008 American fantasy-drama film directed by David Fincher. The screenplay by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord is loosely based on the 1922 short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The film stars Brad Pitt as a man who ages in reverse and Cate Blanchett as the love interest throughout his life. The film was released in the United States on December 25, 2008.

The film received thirteen Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Pitt, and Best Supporting Actress for Taraji P. Henson. It won Oscars for Art Direction, Makeup, and Visual Effects.

Plot

Daisy (Cate Blanchett), an elderly woman, is on her deathbed in a New Orleans hospital as Hurricane Katrina approaches. Daisy asks her daughter, Caroline (Julia Ormond), to read aloud from the diary of Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt).

In 1918, a boy is born with the appearance and physical maladies of a very elderly man. The baby's mother dies shortly after giving birth, and the father, Thomas Button (Jason Flemyng), abandons the infant on the porch of a nursing home. Queenie (Taraji P. Henson) and Mr. "Tizzy" Weathers (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali), who work at the nursing home, find the baby, and Queenie decides to care for him as her own.

In 1930, child-sized Benjamin, having exchanged a wheelchair for crutches, befriends six-year-old Daisy (Elle Fanning), whose grandmother (Phyllis Somerville) lives in the nursing home. As Benjamin's body grows younger, he accepts work on a tugboat. Benjamin also meets Thomas Button, who does not reveal that he is Benjamin's father. In 1936, Benjamin leaves New Orleans with the tugboat crew for a long-term work engagement.

In 1945, Benjamin returns to New Orleans, and learns that 21-year-old Daisy has become a successful ballet dancer. Benjamin again crosses paths with Thomas Button, who, terminally ill, reveals that he is Benjamin's father. Thomas wills Benjamin his possessions before he dies.

Daisy's dance career is ended in Paris in 1957, when she is hit by a taxi cab and breaks her leg. When Benjamin goes to see her, Daisy is amazed at his youthful appearance, but frustrated at her own injuries; she tells him to stay out of her life. In 1962, Daisy returns to New Orleans and reunites with Benjamin. Now of comparable physical age, they fall in love and move in together.

Daisy gives birth to a girl, Caroline. Benjamin, believing he cannot be a father figure to his daughter due to his reverse aging, sells his belongings, and leaves the proceeds to Daisy and Caroline. He travels the world alone.

Benjamin, appearing to be in his late teens, returns to Daisy in 1980. Now re-married, Daisy introduces Benjamin to her husband and daughter as a family friend. Daisy then visits Benjamin at his hotel, where they share their passion for each other. Daisy admits that Benjamin was right to leave; she could not have coped otherwise. Benjamin departs again.

In 1991, Daisy receives a phone call from social workers. They have found Benjamin — now apparently about 12 years old — living in a condemned building, and have contacted her because they found her name in his diary. The bewildered social workers say that his condition resembles dementia. Daisy moves into the nursing home where Benjamin grew up and takes care of him as he becomes increasingly younger, until, physically an infant, he dies in Daisy's arms. Benjamin's story now told, Daisy dies in her hospital bed.

Cast

• Peter Badalamenti as Benjamin Button - 1928-31
• Robert Towers as Benjamin Button - 1932-34
• Tom Everett as Benjamin Button – 1935-37
• Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button – apparent adult
• Spencer Daniels as Benjamin Button – apparent age 12
• Chandler Canterbury as Benjamin Button - apparent age 8
• Shiloh Jolie-Pitt as Benjamin Button – apparent baby
• Cate Blanchett as Daisy Fuller – adult
• Elle Fanning as Daisy Fuller – age 6
• Madisen Beaty as Daisy Fuller – age 11
• Taraji P. Henson as Queenie
• Julia Ormond as Caroline Fuller
• Jason Flemyng as Thomas Button
• Mahershalalhashbaz Ali as Tizzy Weathers
• Jared Harris as Captain Mike
• Elias Koteas as Monsieur Gateau
• Ed Metzger as Theodore Roosevelt
• Phyllis Somerville as Grandma Fuller
• Josh Stewart as Pleasant Curtis
• Tilda Swinton as Elizabeth Abbott
• Bianca Chiminello as Daisy's Friend
• Rampai Mohadi as Ngunda Oti
• Edith Ivey as the woman who makes a great impact on Benjamin's life, yet he cannot remember her name

Production

Development

Producer Ray Stark bought the film rights to do The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in the mid-1980s, and it was optioned by Universal Pictures. The first choice to direct it was Frank Oz, with Martin Short attached for the title role, but Oz couldn't work out how to make the story work. The film was optioned in 1991 by Steven Spielberg, with Tom Cruise attached for the lead role. But, Spielberg left the project to direct Jurassic Park and Schindler's List. Other directors attached were Patrick Read Johnson and Agnieszka Holland. Stark eventually sold the rights to producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, who took the film to Paramount Pictures, with Universal Pictures still on as a co-production partner. By summer 1994, Maryland Film Office chief Jack Gerbes was approached with the possibility of making the film in Baltimore.^[3] In October 1998, screenwriter Robin Swicord wrote for director Ron Howard an adapted screenplay of the short story, a project which would potentially star actor John Travolta.^[4] In May 2000, Paramount Pictures hired screenwriter Jim Taylor to adapt a screenplay from the short story. The studio also attached director Spike Jonze to helm the project.^[5] Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman had also written a draft of the adapted screenplay at one point.^[6] In June 2003, director Gary Ross entered final negotiations to helm the project based on a new draft penned by screenwriter Eric Roth.^[7] In May 2004, Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures joined to co-finance the project, with Paramount Pictures marketing the film in foreign territories and Warner Bros. handling domestic distribution (those were eventually switched). In the same month, director David Fincher entered negotiations to replace Ross in directing the film.^[8] In July 2005, Fincher negotiated a deal with the studios to direct Benjamin Button and Zodiac back-to-back, with Zodiac being produced first.

Adaptation

The completed screenplay differs from Fitzgerald's short story in numerous ways. The short story is set in Baltimore, not New Orleans, where Benjamin is born in 1860 at the start of the Civil War. In the short story, the baby is born speaking like an adult and with a long white beard. He is born in a hospital, not at home, and is 70 years old, not 85. In addition, he is not deserted by his father at a home for the elderly, but is cared for by Mr. Button and encouraged to go to college. He also mentally ages backward, not forward.

Casting

In May 2005, actors Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett entered negotiations to star in the film as Benjamin Button and Daisy, respectively.^[9] In September 2006, actors Tilda Swinton, Jason Flemyng, and Taraji P. Henson entered negotiations to be cast into the film.^[10] The following October, with production yet to begin, actress Julia Ormond was cast as Daisy's daughter, to whom Blanchett's character tells the story of her love for Benjamin Button.^[11]

Filming

Some filming was conducted in the Garden District of New Orleans, including this home at 2707 Coliseum St.

Parisian scenes shooting in Old Montreal

For Benjamin Button, New Orleans, Louisiana and the surrounding area was chosen as the filming location for the story to take advantage of the state's production incentives, and shooting was slated to begin in October 2006.^[12] Filming of Benjamin Button began on November 6, 2006 in New Orleans. In January 2007, Blanchett joined the shoot.^[13] Fincher praised the ease of accessibility to rural and urban sets in New Orleans and said that the recovery from Hurricane Katrina did not serve as an atypical hindrance to production.^[14] In March 2007, production moved to Los Angeles for two more months of filming.^[3] Principal photography was targeted to last a total of 150 days. Additional time was needed at visual effects house Digital Domain to make the visual effects for the metamorphosis of Brad Pitt's character to the infant stage.^[15] The director used a camera system called Contour, developed by Steve Perlman, to capture facial deformation data from live-action performances.^[16] Overall production was finished in September 2007.^[17] The movie props were donated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans. Some of the scenes were shot in Montreal as well.

Music and Dancing

The score to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was written by French composer Alexandre Desplat, who recorded his score with an 87-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Sony Scoring Stage.^[18] The film's first trailer featured the "Aquarium" movement of Camille Saint-Saëns' The Carnival of the Animals. The choir singing in the trailer is Libera, a group of boys from South London. The international trailer contains the song "A Moment of Greatness" by Immediate Music. One of the TV spots contains the song "My Body is a Cage" by Arcade Fire. Some TV spots use the song "The Return", which is part of APM Music's Liquid Cinema Collection "Cinematic Emotions & Drama". There are also songs in the film shared with O Brother, Where Art Thou?, including "Didn't Leave Nobody But the Baby" and "I'll Fly Away", from a different recording. The piano piece that Benjamin learns and which is reprised at the end of the film is Bethena: A Concert Waltz by Scott Joplin.

Benjamin and Daisy watch The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show singing "Twist and Shout".

The principal dancer for teenage and adult Daisy was Jessica Cropper.

Reception

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was originally slated for theatrical release in May 2008,^[19] but it was pushed back to November 26, 2008.^[20] The release date was moved again to December 25 in the United States, January 16, 2009 in Mexico, February 6 in the United Kingdom, February 13 in Italy^[21][22] and February 27 in South Africa.

Box office performance

On its opening day, the film opened in the number two position behind Marley & Me, in North America with $11,871,831 in 2,988 theaters with a $3,973 average.^[2] However, during its opening weekend, the film dropped to the third position behind Marley & Me and Bedtime Stories with $26,853,816 in 2,988 theaters with an $8,987 average. The film has come to gross $127.5 million domestically and $206.4 million in foreign markets, with a total gross of $333.9 million.^[2]

Critical reception

The film has received positive reviews. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 72% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 221 reviews, with 79% of selected "Top Critics" giving the film positive reviews, based on 33 reviews.^[23][24] According to Metacritic, the film received an average score of 70 out of 100, based on 37 reviews.^[25] Yahoo! Movies reported the film received a B+ average score from critical consensus, based on 12 reviews.^[26]

Todd McCarthy of Variety gave the film a positive review, calling it a "richly satisfying serving of deep-dish Hollywood storytelling."^[27] Peter Howell of The Toronto Star says: "It's been said that the unexamined life is not worth living. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button suggests an addendum: a life lived backwards can be far more enriching..." and describes the film as "a magical and moving account of a man living his life resoundingly in reverse" and "moviemaking at its best."^[28] Rod Yates of Empire awarded it five out of a possible five stars.^[29] Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter felt the film was "superbly made and winningly acted by Brad Pitt in his most impressive outing to date." Honeycutt praised Fincher's directing of the film and noted that the "cinematography wonderfully marries a palette of subdued earthern colors with the necessary CGI and other visual effects that place one in a magical past." Honeycutt states the bottom line about Benjamin Button is that it is "an intimate epic about love and loss that is pure cinema."^[30]

A.O. Scott of The New York Times states, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, more than two and a half hours long, sighs with longing and simmers with intrigue while investigating the philosophical conundrums and emotional paradoxes of its protagonist’s condition in a spirit that owes more to Jorge Luis Borges than to Fitzgerald." Scott praised director David Fincher and writes "Building on the advances of pioneers like Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Robert Zemeckis...Mr. Fincher has added a dimension of delicacy and grace to digital filmmaking" and further states, "While it stands on the shoulders of breakthroughs like Minority Report, The Lord of the Rings and Forrest Gump, Benjamin Button may be the most dazzling such hybrid yet, precisely because it is the subtlest." He also stated: "At the same time, like any other love--like any movie--it is shadowed by disappointment and fated to end."^[31]

On the other hand, Anne Hornaday of The Washington Post states, "There's no denying the sheer ambition and technical prowess of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. What's less clear is whether it entirely earns its own inflated sense of self-importance..." and further says, "It plays too safe when it should be letting its freak flag fly."^[32] Kimberley Jones of the Austin Chronicle panned the film and states, "Fincher's selling us beautifully cheekboned movie stars frolicking in bedsheets and calling it a great love. I didn't buy it for a second."^[33]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying that it is "a splendidly made film based on a profoundly mistaken premise." He goes on to elaborate that "The movie's premise devalues any relationship, makes futile any friendship or romance, and spits, not into the face of destiny, but backward into the maw of time."^[34]

Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian called it "166 minutes of twee tedium", giving it one star out of a possible five.^[35]

Cosmo Landesman of the Sunday Times wrote: "The film’s premise serves no purpose. It’s a gimmick that goes on for nearly three hours," concluding "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is an anodyne Hollywood film that offers a safe and sanitised view of life and death. It's Forrest Gump goes backwards," while awarding the film two out of five stars.^[36] James Christopher in The Times called it "a tedious marathon of smoke and mirrors. In terms of the basic requirements of three-reel drama the film lacks substance, credibility, a decent script and characters you might actually care for"^[37] while Derek Malcolm of London's Evening Standard notes that "never at any point do you feel that there’s anything more to it than a very strange story traversed by a film-maker who knows what he is doing but not always why he is doing it."^[38]

The screenplay also came under criticism for its perceived unoriginality. Many have noted extensive similarities between The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Forrest Gump, both written by Eric Roth, prompting accusations of "self-plagiarism."^{[39][40][41][42]}

Top ten lists

The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2008.^[43] According to Movie City News, the film has appeared on 79 different top ten lists out of 286 different critics lists surveyed, the 6th most mentioned on a top ten list of the films released in 2008.^[44] According to CriticsTop10, the film appeared on over 136 film critics top ten lists, with 12 number one mentions, and was also ranked 6th of the year in terms of appearances on critics' top ten lists.^[45]

Home media

The film was released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on May 5, 2009 by Paramount. The Criterion release includes over three hours of special features, and a documentary about the making of the film.^[46] Benjamin Button has something of an unusual distribution arrangement for the Blu-ray release world wide. The US Criterion release does not appear to be available in other countries and it is unknown whether Warner struck a different transfer for other markets or used the same master outside of US. For releases in countries such as UK and Australia, the Blu-ray is distributed by Warner Brothers with no reference to Criterion on the packaging. The Criterion edition has received outstanding reviews for audio and video presentation. The main audio track is consistent across all editions (DTS HD Master Audio) and the special features appear to be consistent across both editions also. The Australian edition of the Blu-ray includes a license to download a digital copy of the movie to portable devices. This license key is valid for 1 year from release date of the Blu-ray. There is no media in the set containing the portable digital edition of the movie. As of November 1, 2009 the DVD has sold 2,515,722 DVD copies and has generated $41,196,515 in sales revenue.^[47]

Awards and honors

Notes

HighDefDiscNews Blu-ray Review

External links

• Official website
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at the Internet Movie Database
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at Allmovie
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at Box Office Mojo
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at Metacritic