Both of your bloggers did, so I thought I'd post about it.
I thought the film was great, but I have two comments. First: Is it not a better version of Forrest Gump--the same magical Southern epic storyline, with an everyman main character who goes to war, goes to sea, and loves his momma, but thankfully in this case is not also a glorification of anti-intellectualism?
And second: Was not the whole Katrina angle sort of extraneous and even cheapening? What did that have to do with the story? And if they were in New Orleans in the 1960s, how did they miss Hurricane Besty, Katrina's mini-me?
I give it an A-. Discuss.
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Hey, what's wrong with loving your momma? But, seriously, some of my readers have told me to see this. I may have to give it a gander.
I enjoyed it too, but whoa there Chris... them's fighting words. Forrest Gump is my favorite movie of all time. Some similar style and themes? Yes. Even familiar characters. But better? Not even close.
I think they used Katrina to provide a backdrop that would give readers a sense of relating to the time theme. Most of us remember where we were when Katrina hit, so we immediately know when it's taking place as well as feel some emotion about the circumstance. The audience knows how it will play out; the storm and that Benjamin will inevitably keep getting younger. (It's also an early clue about how long it's been since Benjamin was born). And there's the symbolism with the clock... I'd say more but it would involve spoilers.
I'm with you: A-
I also really enjoyed Benjamin button. I never even connected it with Forrest Gump so I'll have to give that angle some thought. I think the Katrina thing was forced a bit but with the flooding at the end, it seemed to fit with the theme of irrevocable loss.
I saw it with wife & older kids and they were sorely tested over the length of the film. This is annoying to me in that once I am hooked by a film, the longer the better. Their ideal headline: "ADD hits Hollywood. All films to be less than 90 minutes."
But I also wanted the Lord of the Rings movies to be longer (Jackson left so much out!) so I may not be the best judge on this aspect.
Very good film.
Perhaps now I have to go and see it. BTW, Forrest Gump is one of the rare movies (I am usually a sucker and like everything on the screen) that I actively disliked when I saw it. I hope this one is better.
Life is like a box of buttons. You never know when you're gonna hafta put one to your lip....
Private Gump is the best movie ever. Period.
There is also a thematic similarity to another Brad Pitt fan-pic, Legends of the Fall. In both, he is driven by circumstances to abandon his loved ones and wander through remote and exotic locales. Curious.
To the point on Katrina - yes. I mad this basic point to a friend a week ago:
It seemed to me that the use of Katrina in Button was more of a convenient plot element than a legitimate execution in the context of New Orleans. This may all amount to a "too soon" argument, but I thought the use of Katrina was insufficient to the gravity of the actual situation. Its a passing curiosity in the movie, an "oh, I remember that" connection to the contemporary audience. This would be OK, if there was any reflection on Katrina, but there isn't. The best comparison I can make is the use of ground zero imagery in 25th Hour (2002, Spike Lee) as a launching point for reflection and as a plot mechanism. This seemed to me a proper use of a tragedy of such magnitude.
For a resident of NOLA, the use of Katrina is at best a trite wash of a human catastrophe.
I liked Benjamin Button quite a bit, but it also has major flaws.
The "youthing" throughout the first 3/4ths of the movie worked well I didn't like the way it was handled towards the end. The Katrina subplot was not at all necessary.
The parallels to Forrest Gump are should be pretty obvious - and they both had the same screenwriter (Eric Roth).
I think Benjamin Button might wind up winning most of the major Oscars as the production values are incredible. That said, I preferred Milk, and think Sean Penn deserves the Best Acting Oscar and Milk deserves Best Picture.
I liked this movie, despite its flaws. I agree with you that the whole hospital/Katrina subplot was superfluous and that the movie deserves an overall A- rating. It dragged on in places (towards the middle) and wasn't always successful in making the viewer believe the depth of relationships Benjamin was having (the pigmie, the lady who taught him piano, Captain Mike, his lover in Russia). The movie didn't show enough of the young-looking but old Pitt in my opinion, although it makes sense because the story is told from the old woman's point of view, and she wasn't a part of his life during those years.
Although I did see some parallels with Forrest Gump (which I absolutely loved), this movie reminded me more of Titanic. Same epic feel, same continuous interruptions cutting back to an old lady on her death bed. A third movie in this same general area was Big Fish, which I thought was excellently done.