Not all stories flow the same way! This is one curious case where we see the life of the protagonist move backwards. It isn’t really an uncommon feeling for many of us that we don’t really want to age quicker. Also, it is sometimes funny to wonder what the world would feel like if we started growing younger! Believe me, after watching this Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Julia Ormond starrer, you’d feel better off living life the normal way.Born an octogenarian geriatric but the size of a baby, little Benjamin is abandoned to the care of an old age home. Unbeknownst to why he looks that way, the growing geriatric thinks that he is one among them, but has the curiosity of a child. Curiously though, as time passes, he doesn’t die as people expect him to but starts getting fitter and younger. The Oscar winning make up guys ensure that Brad Pitt unfolds onscreen in a slow flow.
Romance too starts there when the blue eyed grand daughter of an old woman arrives to live there. The little girl, played by Dakota Fanning’s sister too seems to recognize that Benjamin is mentally her age. Soon, a teen’s mind and a fitter body takes him places as a member of a tugboat crew where he experiments wine and women, courtesy his Captain. By World War II, he has lived through war and has had his first love in Russia.
Returning home, he finds Daisy grown up into Cate Blanchett, a ballet dancer, already in love with another man. Years later and an accident wise, she finds the two to be of the same age; romance blossoms, they live together and have a child. Benjamin realizes that his age trend would make him a playmate to his daughter than a father; he gives up his material wealth, including the old Button wealth for the two and goes globe trotting.
Top class art direction, make up and visual effects make the nearly three hour movie a work of art coming live in a believable way but with a touch of fantasy. Spending five hours on make up each day, Brad Pitt fit into his role seamlessly. His acting and his looks during the younger stint deserve a ‘wow’. Cate Blanchett’s act is as impressive as ever. Others like Tilda Swinton and Oscar nominated Taraji Henson stand out too!
Well, if the movie is so well made, then why not more points? That’s simply because stories just go on through time on screen and lack the zing somewhere. This reminds me of ‘Bicentennial Man’ that had the accomplished actor Robin Williams playing a robot working its way towards becoming human that also has a similar flow. Putting this aside, I would still safely recommend this movie for its story creativity and visual appeal.
Rating: 7/10 – Stands out for Artwork, concept and Brad Pitt’s effort!
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