The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with bizarre consequences.

Director:

David Fincher

Writers:

Eric Roth (screenplay), Eric Roth (story)

Stars:

Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton

Won 3 Oscars. Another 80 wins & 157 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cate Blanchett	...	Daisy
Brad Pitt	...	Benjamin Button
Julia Ormond	...	Caroline
Faune Chambers Watkins	...	Dorothy Baker (as Faune Chambers)
Elias Koteas	...	Monsieur Gateau
Donna Duplantier	...	Blanche Devereux
Jacob Tolano	...	Martin Gateau (as Jacob Wood)
Earl Maddox	...	Man at Train Station
Ed Metzger	...	Teddy Roosevelt
Jason Flemyng	...	Thomas Button
Danny Vinson	...	Priest Giving Last Rites
David Jensen	...	Doctor at Benjamin's Birth
Joeanna Sayler	...	Caroline Button
Taraji P. Henson	...	Queenie
Mahershala Ali	...	Tizzy (as Mahershalalhashbaz Ali)

Storyline

On the day that Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans, elderly Daisy Williams (nee Fuller) is on her deathbed in a New Orleans hospital. At her side is her adult daughter, Caroline. Daisy asks Caroline to read to her aloud the diary of Daisy's lifelong friend, Benjamin Button. Benjamin's diary recounts his entire extraordinary life, the primary unusual aspect of which was his aging backwards, being diagnosed with several aging diseases at birth and thus given little chance of survival, but who does survive and gets younger with time. Abandoned by his biological father, Thomas Button, after Benjamin's biological mother died in childbirth, Benjamin was raised by Queenie, a black woman and caregiver at a seniors home. Daisy's grandmother was a resident at that home, which is where she first met Benjamin. Although separated through the years, Daisy and Benjamin remain in contact throughout their lives, reconnecting in their forties when in age they finally match up. Some of the revelations ...

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Plot Keywords:

premature aging | deformed baby | older man younger woman relationship | medical condition | theodore roosevelt character | 

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Taglines:

Time is passing, even backwards.

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief war violence, sexual content, language and smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian French

Release Date:

25 December 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Benjamin Button

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$26,853,816, 28 December 2008, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$127,509,326

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$333,932,083

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, The Kennedy/Marshall Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

166 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.40 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The rights of the story was first bought by Ray Stark, back in the late 70s, with Jack Nicholson to star as Benjamin. Later, the film rights were bought by Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall under the Amblin banner. When Kennedy and Marshall left to start their own production company, they also took the rights along and only started developing the movie in 1994. David Fincher admitted that he never read the source short story. He only read the 240-page script that Eric Roth wrote. His agent, who brought the script to Fincher's attention was a former assistant of Stark. His resolve to make the film came evidently after the death of his father in 2002.

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Goofs

As Benjamin and Daisy are (according to the narration) sailing in the Florida Keys there is a quick shot of a rocket ascending. However, the NASA launch facility is in Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic coast of Florida - hundreds of miles northeast of the Keys.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Daisy: What are you looking at, Caroline?
Caroline: The wind, mom.
[yawns]
Caroline: They say the hurricane is coming.

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Psych: True Grits (2012)

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Soundtracks

Skokiaan
Written by August Msarurgwa
Performed by Dámaso Pérez Prado (as Perez Prado) & His Orchestra
Courtesy of The RCA Records Label
By arrangemne with SONY BMG Music Entertainment

User Reviews

Coldness and Warmth

Technically, like most of Davin Fincher's movies, "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button" is a wonder. The curious saga of a man ageing backwards, gives Fincher the possibility of doing what he does best, tricks. It is the drama part that he doesn't seem to master or perhaps he doesn't care. "Zodiac" was his most coherent dramatic venture. Here he gets infatuated by the CGI and manages some spectacular punches but it is thanks to Brad Pitt the the exercise has a soul. He is truly remarkable. He manages to overcome the distraction of the gadgetry and show us the interior of the man. Brad Pitt's warmth wins over David Fincher's coldness and the most successful parts of the film are reflected in Brad Pitt's eyes. Geared towards an inexorable ending, there are moments of real beauty and tenderness. I'm convinced those moments could have been captured with a Super 8. The over direction of Fincher puts the emotional undertone in real jeopardy but, thankfully, the overall experience is mostly a welcome and rewarding one.