I scored a few tickets for an UNTITLED screening at Paramount Studios while standing in line at the Tropic Thunder screening, which is beyond hilarious. After a long wait in the burning sun, we were taken inside Paramount Studios and seated in one of the nicest screening rooms Ive ever seen. Whatever the film wasI was just excited to watch something on their screen. But I was not disappointed when we found out it was David Finchers upcoming film, THE CURIIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON.
This will be spoiler free.
The film tells the story of Benjamin Barker (Brad Pitt) who is born an old man and ages backwards. In the midst of his awkward and unexplainable body changes, he falls in love with a fellow small-town girl by the name of Daisy (Cate Blanchett). The film tells the story of Benjamins entire life, however, it mainly focuses on him and Daisy, who are slowly but surely aging in opposite directions. Based on F. Scott Fitzgeralds short story of the same name.
First off, this does not feel at all like a David Fincher film. I think die-hard Fincher fans are going to be quite surprised. At its core, its a very romantic film. He has certainly stepped out of his box and certainly out of his usual realm of creativity. There were many moments in the film that felt almost Tim Burton-eqsue.
The film starts out amazingly. The story itself wont have any trouble reeling people in because Fincher is a great storyteller and the source material is top notch. However, I felt this film suffers from the same mistake Zodiac suffered from: things fell apart toward the end. The film is somewhere near three hours. By an hour and a half/forty five, the audience was getting restless. I could hear them squirming in their seats in front and behind me. The last hour is ultimately weighed down by a lot of repetition that has to do with the romance between Pitt and Blanchett. The film is truly great up until the final hour where things begin to feel muddled and unnecessary.
I know that seems like a lot of negative feedback. However, trust me, there is a great deal of excellence in the film. Claudio Mirandas cinematography paired with Alexandre Desplats beautiful score makes for some truly magical moments. In fact, most of the film is filled with these kinds of moments. It works more than it doesnt work; its just the final hour that needs to be tightened up, as well as some rough patches toward the middle. As far as performances go, Pitt and Blanchett are very good, but there are some definite dry moments.
The special effects and make-up in this film are truly amazing. Brad Pitts descent into youth is never once unbelievable; it looks tremendously authentic. The same goes for Blanchetts aging process. The announcer said the films effects werent quite finished yet, which is even more impressive.
With all that said, the film is still in the very early stages of its life considering it wont be released until Christmas. Fincher and his team have a lot of time to polish it up. Im sure these test screenings will reveal the films obvious missteps, because Im pretty sure Im not the only one who felt this way. Beneath its sprawling three hours, a beautiful film exists. I have faith that Fincher will find it.
