Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The Curious Case of Brad as Benjamin

I’m not normally one for Brad Pitt. I’m more into dark than I am into the blonde and blue, but every now and then a film of  his comes along that knocks me off my socks with no warning. He did it in Meet Joe Black, and tonight the very same thing happened in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

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The movie is sensational and touchingly quirky. Layered with so many themes, characters and emotions, it stands as its own work of art against the original short story and what could have been a strangely imposing premise.

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Watching a red-headed Cate Blanchett pirouette and leap across the stage with her exquisite elfin features, seeing Brad channel his inner 60s rebel persona on a motorcycle, but most of all watching them do the twist together on their duplex mattress– as Rachel Zoe would say, I died.

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The special aging effects are remarkably lifelike, the score enchanting, the costumes and sets completely transportive. I left the theatre feeling heavy yet light at the same time. I really haven’t felt this way about a movie since last year’s Diving Bell and the Butterfly. It’s not merely an escape for three hours that ends when you leave the theatre, rather it needs time to be digested and fully appreciated.

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My words do not do this movie justice so I’ll just be quiet now and wait to cheer it on during the upcoming awards season.

2 comments:

Nat said...

I totally agree with everything you said, except for the part about blond & blues. In my books they are always on top, along with redheads of course!

Anonymous said...

i hear ya jess - and completely agree. i was so looking forward to seeing this movie and it did not disappoint. i too left the theatre feeling light yet heavy - and am still digesting it.

a beautiful, sad, romantic, odd, quirky film. i can't wait to cheer it on at all the major awards.