We just returned home from a 6:30 screening of TCCOBB. We began our 2nd annual tradition of watching (at least) the top 5 Best Picture nominations for the Oscars.
There was a grand total of 18 of us in the theatre. It was a Monday night, so 3-hour commitments were probably hard to come by. Too bad. It was a BRILLIANT film. If the quality of this picture is representative of the other four Best Picture noms, we're in for a real treat. As in all great movies, there are multiple themes at work in Button, making the story succeed at many levels: youth and aging, time, death, and life, commitment, personal sacrifice, respect, and--most importantly--love.
I think it would fascinating to hear from people of different generations about what they took away from the film. Do younger audiences connect as deeply with the story as older ones might? I'm convinced that the age of the viewer would be a significant factor in the "message" derived from this film.
The cast was amazing. Brad Pitt certainly deserved his nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role. I won't be at all shocked if he takes home the Oscar next month.
If the Academy is leaning toward voting for an epical film this year, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button will likely win. If it's in the mood for trendy, edgy, and more direct story-telling, it probably won't win. Whatever the result, I would STRONGLY recommend this movie to anyone. It's one you definitely take home with you when you leave the theatre.
Just don't buy a soda before the movie starts. If you do, you probably won't make it through the film without a restroom run! It's L*O*N*G!
8 comments:
Yeah! Don, I'm really looking forward to your movie reviews. I love movies and really enjoy "digesting" them with connoisseurs. I don't get to GO to the movies that often, so until I can see them in the theater, I'll have to settle for reading your first response. :)
we did not like this movie. i gave it a C and Brian gave it a D.
I heard all good things about this movie except for the fact that it was too lloonngg. I love this idea and now I want to go see them all before the Oscars.
Really, Diane? That surprises me. I thought you would have enjoyed it. Was it the premise? The pacing?
Part of it was I went with Brian and HE didn't like it. He couldn't understand why they didn't take the kid/old man to the doctor. :)
As a rule, I don't like flashback movies. The daughter by the bed was a HORRIBLE actor (I don't like her in anything), and what was the story line that this was all happening during hurricane Katrina? Lame.
There were parts of the movie I liked, but it just didn't come together for me.
I, too, and looking forward to your other movie reviews! I remember last year we both really liked Atonement.
Yeah, the daughter wasn't all that appealing and didn't bring a lot to the role. With Brad and Kate for parents, she should have been a hottie...even under the stress of her mother dying in hurricane situation. I thought the Katrina element was great!!
really? how did Katrina add to that movie at all? I thought it was totally unnecessary. there are so many movies I need to see still! On the list: Milk, Doubt, Revolutionary Road, and The Wrestler.
Well, for one thing, it created a dramatic milieu, and established a very specific point in time. Since Katrina is a landmark event in our national psyche, everyone can get a solid grasp on the core "now" of the film, especially when you're dealing with "time" and "aging" in two different directions. I think Katrina was a very brilliant "hitching post" for the audience to establish as "the present." It also make the appearance of the hummingbird at the end so dramatically relevant. The incongruity of a hummingbird out in the middle of a hurricane is so impossible, the event becomes almost "spiritual."
That's my take on it anyway. Of course, I think metaphorically.
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