The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Friday, January 2, 2009 at 11:49PM 
And the award for best quivering lip while crying and talking goes to Julia Ormond. I was slightly obsessed with the movie Legends of the Fall and remember how she talked through tears for the entire movie. First she cried for poor Samuel (aka - Elliot from E.T.), then she cried for Tristan (Brad Pitt) and then she sort of cried for Aidan Quinn - though I think those were tears of regret and loss. I wonder if she ever tires of roles that force her to cry with a quivering lip and shakey voice.
But Julia Ormond is not the point of this entry - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is my subject. In 2008 I came out as a fan of Celine Dion, so perhaps 2009 is the year that I come out as a fan of the timeless romance. I've seen Somewhere in Time about a dozen times, I also own Legends of the Fall and Far and Away. I'm pretty sure I've heard at least one of my friends declare at least one of these movies as the worst ever made. I don't care, I love them, and I'll likely buy Benjamin Button as soon as it's stamped to disc.
The effects are amazing and worth seeing the movie alone. I of course immediately loved the movie because much of the story is based in the nursing home where Benjamin is raised by his adoptive mother Queenie (and how awesome is it that her husband's name is Tizzy???) There were occasional bits of tedium in the story, but the funny parts were a nice surprise and helped tone down the constant lectures about life and how age is a state of mind. The voice of Daisy as a young woman did give me pause. Brad Pitt's character has a low, gravelly voice throughout, but it was strange to hear a young Daisy with a seemingly dubbed voice of an adult Cate Blanchett. I love both Pitt and Blanchett in films and neither disappointed in this one. There's an air of Titanic when the old broad's telling the story from her death bed and the Hurricane Katrina setting was a little odd.
But who are we kidding? I was in love with this movie from the moment I saw the trailer and will probably watch it in secret for years to come.
Reader Comments (1)
Enjoyed your review - we saw this today and I loved it, too! I'll watch it in secret w/you!! :-)