Life is Like a Box of Buttons: Benjamin Button and Forrest Gump

Roughly 10 years after Brad Pitt and David Fincher teamed up to make the ultra-violent, ultra-rebellious “Fight Club,” they reunited to make… a tearjerker that’s extremely reminiscent of “Forrest Gump“? I call that a curious case of WTF!

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” follows Benjamin (Pitt) on a journey from death to birth – born a wrinkled 85 year old man, he grows younger as those around him advance in age. The plot unfolds through a series of (somewhat formulaic) episodes, and there are heaping helpings of narration to fill in the blanks via Benjamin’s slow Louisiana drawl.

That sounds a lot like a slow Alabama drawl talking about mama and a box of chocolates, right? Button’s story actually mirrors Forrest Gump’s from top to bottom. Both center around a romantic relationship that begins in childhood, both main characters survive bloodbaths in combat, both also have complicated relationships with their offspring, and both movies try their best to (pretty openly) tug at our heartstrings.

To the film’s credit, Button’s world is more adult, less black and white, than that of Gump. As a young man, (though he appears old,) Benjamin drinks and enjoys the company of a prostitute. Later he engages in an affair with a married woman. He is not a war hero, merely the lone survivor on his ship. And in his relationship with his daughter, he serves as the tragically absent figure, while the mother, Daisy (Cate Blanchett,) is left to pick up the pieces. The parental roles stand in direct opposition to those of Jenny and Gump, where Forrest plays the hero.

Benjamin Button in his 20's

Everything looks great, which is no surprise considering Fincher’s past work. The special effects used to portray Pitt as a little old man received a lot of attention and deservedly so. The effects used to make both Pitt and Blanchett appear younger were even more flawless and convincing, in my opinion. The Oscars for art direction, visual effects and makeup really tell the story – this is great work. Clearly the visuals came from the hands of a master (or more likely a team of masters.)

The story, however, seems to rest in hands not quite so deft. The humor misses as often as it hits, and the dramatic element is sparse on fully developed relationships and heavy handed.

Unused poster artwork for Benjamin Button

The clever sequences, such as the series of lightning strikes and the chain of events leading to a car crash, border on brilliant. The drama, though, like Gump, veers directly into sentimental mush. The puppet strings become a little too visible, the contrivances and manipulations a little too clear. So much so, in fact, that by the end character behavior began to lose believability. The script works toward the dramatic end the writer had in mind without making the details add up. I’d go so far as to say that the “myth” of Benjamin Button is deeply unsatisfying.

On the whole, the movie is a visual marvel with an interesting story gimmick – aging in reverse. The script, unfortunately, just doesn’t quite deliver the goods. An excellent cast salvages it some by playing things fairly subtly, to the point that it was well worth watching. Still, I think the Best Picture nomination was a bit of a stretch – the movie was not one of my 10 favorite of 2008.

Then again, it’s interesting to see the director of “Seven,” “Fight Club” and “Zodiac” take a step in a different direction. Just like “Forrest Gump,” that step connected with a huge audience, too.