MovieRob’s Birthday Bash of Favorites 2021 (#8 of 48) – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) – Encore Review

January is my birthday month, so I decided that I would try and do something quite unique and special for this milestone in my life. I will be turning 47, so I decided to watch 48 (47+1 for good luck) of my all time favorite movies in a random order over the course of this month. I have reviewed every one of these films already, but I will now give new perspectives on them all. Every one of these films received a 10/10 scoring from me. Some of these reviews will contain spoilers so if you have never seen them before, I recommend that you read some of my previous reviews of the film that were spoiler free before reading on…

Hope you enjoy!

This is film #8 of the 48.

Let’s continue with…

Initial Viewing Memories – This is a film that I saw not long after it came out and the epic feel of the story transfixed me because it is done so well.

“Benjamin, we’re meant to lose the people we love. How else would we know how important they are to us? ” – Mrs. Maple

Number of Times Seen – 5 (29 Dec 2008, Jan 2009, Jul 2009, 17 Nov 2015 and 6 Jan 2021)

Link to original review – Here

Brief Synopsis – A man who’s body de-ages after he is born as an old man tries to find his place in the world.

My Take on it – Superbly told story that works on so many levels. Brad Pitt is amazing in the lead role and the makeup and effects help make things feel so realistic. The film has a great message about life and the way we spend our time and remains poignant no matter how many times one watches it. The characters that come in and out of the main character’s life are fascinating to watch and it resonates so well from start to finish. They find ways to make us care so much about each of the characters which makes things so much more personal. The script was written by Eric Roth who also wrote Forrest Gump (1994) and there are similarities in the ways that both Gump and Button live their lives and how they find out later in the story about things that happen to some of the other characters. The special effects are spectacular and really help make things feel even more realistic to watch unfold. The way that things are told entirely in flashback also works in helping to make this story feel even more epic and poignant in all that it does. This was quite deserving of its 13 Oscar nominations including Best Picture Director, Actor for Pitt and screenplay even if it only managed to win 3 (Art Direction, Makeup and Special effects). Still can’t believe that it somehow lost to Slumdog Millionaire (2008). Highly Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The hummingbird is the only bird in the world that can fly backwards. Hurricanes spin counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. These, among other “backward” motifs involving clocks and so on, tie in with the major thematic elements related to Benjamin Button living life in reverse. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (10/10) (no change from original review)