The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (2008) ****

Based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is the account of the life of the title character played by Brad Pitt and centering around the city of New Orleans. He's abandoned on a door step and learns life from his surrogate parents while growing up and even finding his forever sweetheart Daisy (Kate Blanchett) when he's a youth. The curve ball in this film is that Benjamin has an odd way of growing up: he's born and old man and consistently gets younger as time passes.

There are three ways to look at Benjamin Button. The first is that it's the basically the story of Benjamin as he travels through life with this weird occurrence happening to him and how it affects the common scenarios associated with ones life. How does it look for an old man to be hiding under a table with a twelve year old girl in the middle of the night, even though they are both the same age. This reversal is a real struggle throughout the film in just about everything Benjamin does.

The second way to look at the film is that it's Daisy's story. The film is told from her deathbed in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and her life is interwoven with Benjamin's throughout the film, even when they're not together. Benjamin's "ailment" affects her life just as much as his, just in different ways. The main gist of looking at it this way is to decide whether love will conquer over his problem.

The final way to look at it is that it's the story of New Orleans from the end of World War I to the city's "death" after Hurricane Katrina (and if you ask New Orlean-philes they will tell you that the New Orleans they love is no more). Is it any coincidence that Hurricane Katrina has a huge role in the film? The film is bookended by the story of a backward running clock that symbolizes this era in New Orleans and even though director David Fincher doesn't throw New Orleans in your face the city is still a main character throughout the film.

Benjamin Button is a fine film with a fine cast that was shot beautifully. I think that's what stands out the most in this film is the cinematography of it. The film is a bit long and feels like it and some parts tend to be hokey, yet Brad Pitt gives a great performance as the backwards Mr. Button. Overall it's a very good film thats whole equals a lot more than its parts.