Last night on the Paramount lot was the first test screening of David Fincher’s THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON! God, why do I live in New Jersey when such cool shit happens in Los Angeles… Luckily a JoBlo.com operative we’ll nickname Lt. Mike Harrigan was in the audience and has reported back with the very first review of BENJAMIN BUTTON. So what’d he think? His highly positive and mostly spoiler-free review follows:
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Yesterday I got word they were screening an “Untitled” film on the Paramount lot. Thought maybe it was “Star Trek” or “Eagle Eye” and I was excited to see either of those movies so I headed over to check it out. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be something I hadn’t even expected: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”
There was the usual rap about the film not being finished but the FX looked pretty much done to me, though there was one scene where the rain needed to be added. I’ll get back to the FX and CGI later though.
The film starts off around the 1920s as Pitt/Button is born as an old-looking baby. From there we progress through history as he ages backwards. While he’s in his 20s (they don’t say exactly how old he is), he’s assigned to a tug boat in WWII and there’s a war scene (glimpsed in the trailer) that’s probably my favorite in the entire film. I won’t bother getting into too much of the plot because it’s pretty self-explanatory. What I can say though is that while on the surface it’s about Benjamin Button aging backwards and Daisy (Cate Blanchett) aging normally, it mainly deals with how to pick yourself up and find new meaning in life no matter where you are at in life. Pitt is the catalyst for people to do this throughout the story.
Though the bulk of the story takes place when he and Blanchett are middle-agish, the aging effect is pretty flawless on Pitt. Enhancements aside, the acting was superb all around. It was the most subdued I think I have ever seen Pitt in a movie. Blanchett was excellent and will probably get an Oscar nod along with Pitt.
It really didn’t feel like a Fincher flick. If I had to compare it to something else I’d say it’s FORREST GUMP meets BIG FISH meets THE NOTEBOOK. The story is simple but doesn’t feel too simple. Guy goes from older to younger. It just tells his tale. It’s absolutely one not to miss later this year.
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After reading this guy’s thoughts, I rewatched the trailer and I’m even more excited to see the movie than I was before. I mean those effects look pretty amazing and that’s just the trailer. If anyone else out there was lucky enough to check it out last night, do us all a favor and let us know your thoughts as well! BENJAMIN BUTTON opens in theaters this Christmas.