Lambie Reviews The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Year: 2008
Accolades: Nominee for Academy Award for Best Picture; One of the AFI's Top Ten Films of 2008; One of 1001 Films You Must See Before You Die
Review on Letterboxd: 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' review by Avalanche

At first I thought I was going to hate this film because of its meandering pacing, however I ended up loving it. It does take a little while to get going and let us get a grip on the direction and pace it is taking, but once it gets going it's a fascinating exploration of life and death.

Normally, I find the sort of plodding, biographical style films to be dull and uninteresting, partially because they try to cram too much into the film and have no sense of overall theme or direction. This film is different in that it's the perfect length with a perfect amount of content. Any shorter and it would feel rushed and unsatisfying, any longer and it would feel bogged down in the content.

The framing device of a woman reading a diary of sorts to her old, dying mother in a hospital works surprisingly well, although I don't know if the impending hurricane was meant to add any tension to the scenes because it seemed to be one of the few elements of the film that didn't add anything and felt unnecessary.

The cinematography is gorgeous, but is never “arty” for the sake of being “arty”. It's always showing us the beauty (or sometimes emptiness) of the world the way Benjamin sees it. Characters come and go throughout his life, but even the ones that are only around for a small portion of the film leave their mark and if they leave because they die it's always a sad moment. There are indeed many characters in the film, and there's always some way to distinguish them from each other and recognise them, even if at times it is difficult to recognise by sight who is who.

This is the sort of film that film lovers love. It doesn't get bogged down in themes and superfluous symbolism, trying too hard to pepper the story and frame with all sorts of subtle imagery like some other films can do. It weaves everything into the heart of the story, and gives us a film that we connect with and want to remember.