The curious case of Brad Pitt

By Lubna Abdel-Aziz

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"You're perfect!" cries a smitten Cate Blanchett on first seeing a youthful, inviting, seductive Brad Pitt -- and don't we all concur! Following their impressive cooperation on Babel (2006) the mega stars meet again in the critically acclaimed adaptation of an F.Scott Fitzgerald short story The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. So positive were the reviews, the film has garnered the most Oscar nominations. 13- for 2009, including Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director (David Fincher), and Best Adapted Screenplay ( Eric Roth). Having seen the film recently, I confess, I have not been so engrossed in such a cinematic piece of work in a long time. Totally immersed in the premise of Fitzgerald's story, the tender affair of the ill-fated lovers, the visionary prowess of the production, I was the last to leave the theatre. New York Observer's Rex Reed describes it as a "monumental achievement," and Reed is not your kindest critic. He adds "not only is it one of the best films of the year, but one of the greatest films ever made." While I hesitate to relate the plot of an excellent piece of work in the hope of stirring the reader's curiosity, I will make an exception in this case.

Brad Pitt Ripe and mellow

F Scott Fitzgerald, one of America's foremost novelists, penned this short story in 1921, which coincided with the birth of his only son, Frances Scott. The rejection and failure that pursued him throughout his life is evident in this poignant story about the birth of a baby boy at the end of WW-I with the appearance of a man who is 70-some years old. The birth ocurred while a clock hung at the New Orleans train station by clockmaker Gateau, who after receiving the news of his son's death, designed the clock to run backward, in the hope that it would bring back those who died in the war.

The newborn baby's mother dies soon after giving birth, and before his father's arrival. The grief-sticker father seeks his newborn son amongst the infants in the maternity ward. This is what he sees, in Fitzgerald's own words; "An old man...his sparse hair almost white, and from his chin dripped a long smoke-coloured beard, which waved absurdly back and forth, fanned by the breeze"....Mister Button's terror resolved into rage. Horrified at his son's appearance, the father abandons the infant at the doorstep of an old people's nursing home. A black nurse takes the baby in, as her own. She names him Benjamin.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons starts when he begins to grow physically younger over the years unlike the rest of us. Daisy, his life-long love from old age to boyhood, first entered his life at the nursing home, when he was seven years old, looking more like 70. Daisy's grandmother lives in the home. She reads to the children and watches them play. Daisy moves away and as the years roll by Benjamin works on a tugboat on the docks of New Orleans and travels at sea for many years. One day he runs into his father for the first time. The elder Button does not reveal his identity until years later when on his deathbed he confesses to his son the truth, and bequeaths to him all his assets, which are considerably.

The love story between Daisy and Benjamin deepens as he gets younger and she gets older. Daisy and Benjamin fall in love again while Daisy is growing older and Benjamin is getting younger. A few years pass and Daisy gives birth to a beautiful baby girl, Caroline. Believing he can no longer be her real father due to his continuous age reversal, Benjamin walks away when Caroline turns one, leaving them all his possessions. Through the years, he never fails to send his daughter a postcard on every birthday from wherever he may be. Benjamin continues to grow younger, until he is now looking like a youth of 25. He decides to visit Daisy who is now married and Caroline is 13. They meet privately one more time at his hotel, ignoring the fact that Daisy is now an old woman -- too old for Benjamin.

There is more to this tale of love lost and love found, then lost again. Director David Fincher has received much praise for his "soul-filling vision." In his skilled hands he races with the baton passed by the likes of Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemecki, to take it to the finish line. He adds delicacy and grace to Computer Imagery, to make it the most dazzling of such hybrid. Yet his work is subtle and his cinematography is supreme, with its earthen colours and magical imagery.

We are used to Miss Blanchett's regular acting perfection. Her nuances are finespun and her emotions ever penetrating. The surprise is the performance of Mr Pitt. Since the early days, Brad has tried to distance himself from the matinee idol mould and venture into finer more thoughtful works. Somehow the good looks were too overwhelming and little attention was paid to his talent. In Babel he broke the mould but the film did not resonate with the viewers or the critics. Now he stuns us by not only being an old man through most of the film but by superb acting in a full palette of moods and passions, introspection and confusion, vividly portrayed for the viewer to relate to. The New York Times whines and pines over the 2.5 hour long film, which, "sighs with longing and simmers with intrigue while investigating the philosophical conundrums and emotional paradoxes of the protagonist's condition." Is it sheer ambition or absolute and utter talent!

Whether it is the responsibility of fatherhood, or life with the beguiling Angelina Jolie, so deeply wise beyond her years, the screen's pretty boy has grown considerably. With his newly acquired couple of grey hairs and a couple of wrinkles here and there, his good looks remain intact. He has the critics raving and the public cheering together with Miss Blanchett -- "You're perfect!"

The tragedy of old age is not that one is old,
but that one is young!
-- Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)