
NOTE: Spoilers are listed throughout the next few paragraphs so if you haven't seen this film yet, don't read below until you have. You have been WARNED!
For the first half of the movie I kept thinking about how it seems to mirror the tone and plot of Forrest Gump. The story arc was very similar throughout and it was a little hard for me to distinguish this movie on its own. That all seemed to go out the window when Benjamin (Brad Pitt in a unique role that has him aging in reverse) started becoming younger than Cate Blanchett. The plot almost reverses itself at this point and the ultimate demise of Benjamin is what makes this film most powerful. I honestly have not felt as emotionally drawn into a movie since Return of the King (my favorite movie of all-time) in 2003.
To be honest, the performances were not outstanding overall. Pitt was very good, Blanchett was OK and the supporting cast did a good enough job. The real stars of the film (outside of the brilliant Taraji P. Henson who played Benjamin's adopted mother) were the visual effects and the directing. The makeup and aging effects are done so seemlessly that you really believe Brad Pitt is a short little old man for the first third of the movie. The narrative decision by Fincher to move back and forth between the present-day and flashbacks worked extremely well in moving the story along. The pauses to focus back in on present-day Daisy (Blanchett) in a New Orleans hospital let the viewer take a breath from the wide arc of Benjamin's life and help ease the transition for the aging of the main characters (which is the absolute emotional core of this firm). I think about aging in my own life a lot and this film really spoke to me in that regard.
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
The one really glaring mistake I though that Roth and Fincher made with this film was to incorporate the Hurrican Katrina subplot. It didn't really fit in at all and seemed to draw unneccesary attention away from the overall plot. Bottom lin ethough, everyone NEEDS to see this movie. It may be too Gump-like for your tastes but if nothing else you'll witness a masterpiece in technical achievement. A perfect 5 out of 5 JRs!
1 comment:
I bet Pitt wanted Hurricane Katrina in there since he is so vested in New Orleans (although now he and Angie are living in France). He has some tattoos of levies on his stomach.
Post a Comment