By Todd Murphy
BOTTOM LINE: A rich, heart-warming film that takes the unusual premise of a man growing younger and using it to provide a number of life lessons about making the most of what you have been given.
THE GOOD: Director David Fincher has made some very rich and complex films in his career, many exploring the darker sides of humanity. With "Curious Case", he still retains his unique style but manages to fuse it with a more heart-warming feel without losing touch with reality which he could easily have done given the quirky premise of a man born old who grows younger. Many great themes of life, love and death are covered, particularly the ideas of destiny, fate and choice. Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) is abandoned at birth by his father who thinks he is a monster. He is taken in by a loving black woman who raises him in her old person's home who are there to live out their few remaining years. As Benjamin grows, he gains a unique perspective on life; he learns quickly about the end of life and what it means to not waste any moments you have been given. Coupled with his unusual condition which makes him an outcast, Benjamin develops in to a gentle, non-judgmental character you cannot help but love. This is no more demonstrated in his relationship with Daisy (Cate Blanchett) whom he meets early in his life and leads to a rocky friendship to an eventual loving relationship. Fate continues to bring them together, and when their respective ages become closer, they develop a relationship which is full of highs, but is doomed to end early as their age gap begins to widen again.
One brilliantly constructed scene involves a car accident involving Daisy. Benjamin re-constructs the incident in his mind, pointing out a number of very minor events, and if even one of these minor events had not occurred, she would not have been on the street at the time she was involved in the accident. In many ways, this scene envelopes the finer themes of fate that run throughout this film and how life can take things away from you in a single moment, a lesson which works for all of us in that we should never take our lives for granted. Both Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are perfect in their respective roles. Pitt delivers a very understated performance that is instantly loveable given Benjamin's gentle persona. Blanchett creates a complicated girl who has a very turbulent early life but becomes content and grounded when she becomes more intimately involved with Benjamin. The images are absolutely glorious. David Fincher is renowned for creating vivid, and carefully constructed shots and he does not disappoint in this movie, with each picture being a movie in itself.
THE BAD: The film feels a little long-winded. At over two and a half hours, the film does have a slow pace which could have been improved with some editing. The film is not boring, but there were some moments where I found myself shifting in my seat, more because of the running time than the story. The scenes involving Daisy as a dying woman in the hospital with her daughter reading Benjamin's diary do not always fit naturally in to the Benjamin's life story, and the moment where her daughter realises that Benjamin is her real father does not seem fair to the character when it happens. In many ways, "Curious Case" has a lot in common with "Forrest Gump", but unlike the latter film, "Curious Case" does not have the same energy or pace to make it stand out as a masterpiece. Having made these points however, David Fincher has done a fabulous job with this film and it is worth seeing at the cinema.
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For the original review, follow this link: http://www.allaboutmovies.net/filmreviewthecuriouscaseofbenjaminbutton.htm
Todd Murphy is a staff reviewer at the film/DVD review web site,
http://www.allaboutmovies.net - for all the latest reviews on the newest releases.
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By Megan P.
Movie Mama Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Recommended For: Elementary school age and above
Starring: Helen Mirren, Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, Jim Broadbent, Andy Serkis
Directed By: Iain Softley
Running Time: 1 hr. 43 min.
MPAA Rating: PG for fantasy adventure action, some scary moments and brief language.
Genre: Adventure/Family/Fantasy
Mo Folchart (Brendan Fraser) was born with a special power: anything he reads aloud comes to life. He did not know of his gift until he read the book Inkheart to his young daughter, Meggie (Eliza Hope Bennett). Several characters from the book appeared before him: the evil villain Capricorn (Andy Serkis), a few of his thugs, and a fire-juggler named Dustfinger (Paul Bettany). And as if the characters leaping off the page and threatening Mo with his life weren't bad enough, his wife Resa (Sienna Guillory) was tragically transported into the book. When the book is destroyed, Mo spends his entire life traveling with Meggie all over the world in search for another copy of Inkheart so he may bring his wife back to the real world.
Inkheart, in essence, is a fantasy tale about a fantasy tale. The idea of reading stories to life is an intriguing one. With all the wonderful books and characters in literary history, Inkheart had the potential to be an intimidatingly great, masterfully woven film. But the author and director took the easy route, handing the audience a mediocre story with an messy ending of underutilized characters.
While Inkheart is an acceptable family flick, true movie lovers are going to feel cheated and confused. For example, Meggie has an English accent, even though we're led to believe that she has never settled down anywhere, and her father has an American accent. Maybe I'm a bit too picky about accents, but when a director has the ability to create a world for us to step into, the most simple elements should click. Eliza Hope Bennett is a terrific Meggie, and her accent is lovely, but it was distractingly out of place.
Helen Mirren plays Meggie's rude Aunt Elinor who lives a life of solitude, escaping into novels instead of setting foot in the real world. Her character is an interesting one, especially when she gives up her solitude to help Mo and Meggie, but Helen Mirren's performance is nothing above community stage acting. I was thoroughly irritated with her by the end. As for Brendan Fraser, he brings nothing new to the movie screen since his most recent film, Journey to the Center of the Earth.
PROS
Even though Inkheart's author creates Dustfinger as a cowardly and selfish character, he learns that he can choose to be different, that our actions and choices change who we are, and that we are not preconceived notions of ourselves.
Dustfinger redeems himself in the end, becoming a selfless person. However, this is only depicted by him committing one solitary selfless act. In my opinion, this isn't enough to convince me that he has changed, but one selfless act is better than none.
Mo is consistently protecting Meggie, much to her chagrin. But he's a wonderful father figure, risking his life for hers several times. He is also committed to restoring his family, searching for years to find his lost wife and reunite with her.
CONS
Dustfinger's pet ferret fetches keys from an old hag's wrinkly cleavage. I thought this was distasteful and uncalled for. The villains are comical and not truly scary, however they do wield knives and one of them cuts Mo's arm in a flashback. The shadow creature at the end may be too much for little ones. There is a violent tornado scene where men are swept up into the cyclone, as well as very mild language.
OVERALL
Inkheart is a mildly entertaining family flick, but nothing more.
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Megan is the staff family movie reviewer for http://www.pluggedinparents.com . For more parenting articles on health and safety, nutrition, baby, money and tech, family life, pets, and movie reviews, visit pluggedinparents.com today!
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