After having developed pretty much the most successful directorial career of the decade, Fincher just refuses to hold back his enormous talent, always picking the risky projects and churning out an exhilarating piece of work. He's come a long way as it is, and then comes along the curious "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". The title speaks for itself. The result can be anything between a predictable romantic drama, or a stirring, magical, unforgettable, heartbreaking, intelligent, challenging experience. I'm sure you can tell which direction I'm headed.
Oh, what a curious case indeed. The film begins as a child, born on the day of the end of the Great War (symbol of the beginning of life?), is abandoned by his father outside a boardinghouse dedicated for seniors. It is quickly revealed that he was born ugly and wrinkled (not quite the appearance of a child, but "still a child of God"). We don't find out immediately that he will lead his life physically aging backwards, but it is gradually revealed as he grows older, when his back begins to take shape and his wheelchair is rendered useless.
What ensues after developing his bizarre nature, however, is the true core of this absolutely spellbinding masterpiece. There is always a lingering dread that his relationships will never work beyond their limited time frame, but its characters are driven by soul, not any shallow desires. The heart of the film is the relationship between Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Will their love survive their difficult circumstances? Mortality is the key theme of this picture, the adamant difference between young and old age. Transience is man's greatest weakness.
Although it's a pretty glum and straightforward thing to say that nothing lasts, the film does not depict itself through false optimism, but rather through hope. Hope that beneath these torn souls, there is the chance of wisdom and love overcoming mortality, and it culminates a damned poignant realization. There is also a playful theme to summarize the entire film -- no matter which way you age, life will always f-ck you. Tell that to the millions of women undergoing their midlife crisis, I guarantee the results will not be pretty. I'm getting off- track now, so let me just say this is possibly the best film of the year, and many years to come.
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