The Chronicles of Benjamin Button

Because the majority of the money-spending American public is adolescent, it is safe to assume the majority of entertainment being offered America also is adolescent. So is the case with Brad Pitt and David Fincher’s most recent MTV collaboration. Unlike the gritty realism and social relevance of the film Fight Club, especially on the eve of America’s financial breakdown, the Chronicles of Benjamin Button is an epic fantasy cinematically filmed in the concept of Narnia. Fincher’s vocation as a music video director ruined the chances for this adaptation. I went because I was curious to see if a complex adult plot penned by F. Scott Fitzgerald successfully could be adapted to the big screen. Even without Renderman and the gloss and ADD of the videogame concept, achieving such an adaptation would be difficult. Live theatre might be a better venue for such a goal. Adrian Lyne carefully and successfully has achieved similar goals with Lolita. Juxtaposing these two films is a metaphor for the difference between adolescent and adult concept. I just could not stomach another Owen Wilson flop. Wilson has had great success in adult films, and I do not mean pornography. The Royal Tenenbaums is poignant look into the humorous dysfunction of an American family. Me, You, and Dupree was an unsuccessful parody of a homeless man erroneously cast into the comedic concept. It like Steve Martin’s Shop Girl was a gross depiction of cinematic confusion conceptually failing to understand its own approach. While Martin was able to drive the drama of Shopgirl from his own heart, its message was immoral, callous, and inhuman. You, Me, and Dupree never understood itself. If it had it would have been cast as sad drama failing to bring in the box office dollars. This it would seem is the ailment of American film subverting possible cinematic gems. The American economy has been strapped for a decade necessitating the Japanese’s reluctance to become patrons of film. Instead the most obvious un-artistic cinematic tricks are strewn on pixels in an adolescent stream of consciousness. The drama that once drove film through acting has conveniently has been replaced with video game programming. The film industry truly has lost touch with its roots, and the change to digital media has not helped. Juggling all of these issues used to be the job of huge movie production companies. That is what it took to produce a film of substance, longevity, and artistic quality. While Saturday Night Live pioneered the concept of reality TV, for most adults it fails. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button attracted me because its concept required this old school cinematic approach. Someone had to think through the dichotomy of a geriatric being born in a baby’s body and how it would be handled chronologically. It is a fascinating concept. Because I had not read the original short story, I felt this movie could be a good place to become acquainted with it. In the boredom of the American holidays I made the mistake of going to the film on New Year’s day. It was a sentimental decision, seeing as this as what we did as adolescents. What better way to spend Christmas day then seeing a good movie? An F. Scott Fitzgerald short story seemed more interesting then Marley and Me. While watching Jennifer Aniston always is a pleasure, watching these bad films is not. What exacerbates the situation is watching reputable and capable actors scratching for a living in such juvenile and inane material. While I do not agree with the Disney-izing of Times Square and Broadway, Walt Disney in his formative years understood the American aesthetic. Like Aaron Copland’s music, his animated characters birthed the American spirit in a moving but startlingly realistic way. Without this heart film and America will continue to flail in violence and confusion. The more quickly America as a country realizes her cultural roots, the more quickly American’s confidence will return. Consequently our economy will show America’s proven pioneering resilience.