Tomorrow, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button will be released for the first time on DVD. It has already been chosen for the Criterion Collection. It does not deserve it.
Now this is not by any means a horrible film nor even a bad one. It is just flawed enough so that it is not effective as a story. Before I tell you what I did not like about this film, I would like to celebrate its achievments.
The cinematography is beautiful. The film is filled with well-composed shots and beautiful colors and was a genuine treat to see on the big screen. I am sure the blu-ray transfer (also on Criterion) will be worth viewing.
The special-effects in the film are also something to be celebrated. The reverse aging of the Benjamin Button character is fully and utterly convincing. As I understand it, Brad Pitt’s face was digitally composited on the body of other actors and it really works. I am no expert in special effects but I have been led to believe that the mastery of this technique could have a huge impact on the future of film.
These strengths are more than enough of a reason for you to watch the movie but that still does not mean that it deserves a Criterion release. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is not a great film. It is flawed in that it attempts to represent the human condition through the biography of a single character. The character, Benjamin Button, is never fully defined. We watch his entire life and never get a sense of who he is as a person. At the end of the movie I did not know if he was good or bad, smart or dumb, even interesting or boring. It should not be possible to watch an entire 2.5+ hour movie and have no opinion on the humanity of the main character at the end. For this reason, the entire film falls flat and remains a good movie made by great talents.
