The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Drama, Fantasy, Romance |
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a American fantasy romantic drama film directed by David Fincher. The storyline by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord is loosely based on the 1922 short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The film stars Brad Pitt as a man who ages in reverse and Cate Blanchett as the love interest throughout his life. The film also stars Taraji P. Henson, Julia Ormond, Jason Flemyng, Elias Koteas, and Tilda Swinton.
Producer Ray Stark bought the film rights to do the short story in the mid-1980s with Universal Pictures backing the film, but struggled to get the project off the ground until he sold the rights to producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in the 1990s. Although it was moved to Paramount Pictures in the 1990s, the film did not enter production until after Fincher and Pitt signed on along with the rest of the cast in 2005. Principal photography began in November 2006 and wrapped up in September 2007.
In August 2005, elderly Daisy Fuller is on her deathbed in a New Orleans hospital as Hurricane Katrina approaches. She tells her daughter, Caroline, about a train station built in 1918 and a blind clockmaker, Mr. Gateau, hired to make a clock for it. When it was unveiled at the station, the public was surprised to see the clock running backwards. Mr. Gateau says he made it that way as a memorial, so that the boys they lost in the war, including his own son, could come home again and live full lives. Mr. Gateau was never seen again. Daisy then asks Caroline to read aloud from the diary of Benjamin Button.
On the evening of November 11, 1918, a boy is born with the appearance and maladies of an elderly man. After the baby’s mother, Caroline, dies during childbirth, the father, Thomas Button, abandons the infant on the porch of a nursing home. Queenie and Mr. “Tizzy” Weathers find the baby, and Queenie decides to raise him as her own, naming him Benjamin.
Director: David Fincher
Writers: Eric Roth (screenplay & story), Robin Swicord (story), F. Scott Fitzgerald (short story)
Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Taraji P. Henson, Julia Ormond, Jason Flemyng, Elias Koteas
►Cast:
| Cate Blanchett | … | Daisy |
| Brad Pitt | … | Benjamin Button |
| Julia Ormond | … | Caroline |
| Faune Chambers Watkins | … | Dorothy Baker (as Faune Chambers) |
| Elias Koteas | … | Monsieur Gateau |
| Donna Duplantier | … | Blanche Devereux |
| Jacob Tolano | … | Martin Gateau (as Jacob Wood) |
| Earl Maddox | … | Man at Train Station |
| Ed Metzger | … | Teddy Roosevelt |
| Jason Flemyng | … | Thomas Button |
| Danny Vinson | … | Priest Giving Last Rites |
| David Jensen | … | Doctor at Benjamin’s Birth |
| Joeanna Sayler | … | Caroline Button |
| Taraji P. Henson | … | Queenie |
| Mahershala Ali | … | Tizzy (as Mahershalalhashbaz Ali) |
| Fiona Hale | … | Mrs. Hollister |
| Patrick Thomas O’Brien | … | Dr. Rose |
| Marion Zinser | … | Mrs. Horton |
| Peter Donald Badalamenti II | … | Benjamin 1928-31 (as Peter Badalamenti) |
| Danny Nelson | … | General Winston |
| Paula Gray | … | Sybil Wagner |
| Lance E. Nichols | … | Preacher (as Lance Nichols) |
| Rampai Mohadi | … | Ngunda Oti |
| Troi Bechet | … | Filamena Gilea |
| Phyllis Somerville | … | Grandma Fuller |
| Elle Fanning | … | Daisy Age 7 |
| Ted Manson | … | Mr. Daws |
| Clay Cullen | … | Young Mr. Daws |
| Edith Ivey | … | Mrs. Maple |
| Robert Towers | … | Benjamin 1932-34 |
| Jared Harris | … | Captain Mike |
| Sonya Leslie | … | Daisy’s Nurse |
| Yasmine Abriel | … | Prostitute with Benjamin |
| Madisen Beaty | … | Daisy Age 10 |
| Tom Everett | … | Benjamin 1935-37 |
| Don Creech | … | Prentiss Mayes |
| Christopher DesRoches | … | Rick Brody (as Christopher Maxwell) |
| Joshua DesRoches | … | Vic Brody |
| Richmond Arquette | … | John Grimm |
| Josh Stewart | … | Pleasant Curtis |
| Ilia Volok | … | Russian Interpreter |
| Tilda Swinton | … | Elizabeth Abbott |
| David Ross Paterson | … | Walter Abbott |
| Taren Cunningham | … | Young Elizabeth Abbott |
| Myrton Running Wolf | … | Dennis Smith |
| Stephen Monroe Taylor | … | Sailor |
| Devyn A. Tyler | … | Queenie’s Daughter Age 14 (as Devyn Tyler) |
| Adrian Armas | … | David |
| Wilbur Fitzgerald | … | TV Reporter |
| Ashley Nolan | … | Woman Doctor |
| Louis Herthum | … | Man at Caroline’s Party |
| Katta Hules | … | Caroline Age 12 |
| Rus Blackwell | … | Robert Williams |
| Joel Bissonnette | … | David Hernandez |
| Deneen Tyler | … | Queenie’s Daughter Age 40 (as Deneen D. Tyler) |
| Spencer Daniels | … | Benjamin Age 12 |
| Chandler Canterbury | … | Benjamin Age 8 |
| Charles Henry Wyson | … | Benjamin Age 6 |
| Jessica Cropper | … | Featured Dancer |
| Katherine Crockett | … | Featured Dancer |
| Leslie Augustine | … | Ballet Dancer |
| Blake Balu | … | Restaurant Patron |
| Aliane Baquerot | … | Ballet Dancer |
| Dewayne Bateman | … | Family Member |
| Brett Beoubay | … | 1918 Police Officer |
| Allen Boudreaux | … | Teddy Roosevelt’s Secret Service Agent |
| Eve Brent | … | Old Woman |
| David E. Brown | … | U.S. Lieutenant |
| Megan Brown | … | Woman Kissing Benjamin |
| Melissa Cabrera | … | Ballet Dancer |
| Jake Carpenter | … | Sailor |
| Ryan Catalanotto | … | Soldier |
| Clay Chamberlin | … | The Grumpy Sailor |
| Emma Degerstedt | … | Ballet Dancer |
| Walter Delmar | … | Ballet Dancer |
| Louis Dupuy | … | Taxi Driver |
| Lori Enterline | … | Walk of Shame Girl |
| Marian Filali | … | Hospital Receptionist |
| Ron Flagge | … | Bartender |
| Joe Fontana | … | Shrimper |
| Garrett Forbes | … | Ballet Dancer |
| Tiffany Forest | … | Girl on Street |
| Debby Gaudet | … | Restaurant Patron |
| Simone-Élise Girard | … | Parisian Woman |
| Geraldine Glenn | … | Family Member |
| Zuri Goldman | … | Ballet Dancer |
| Victoria Goulet | … | Russian Barmaid |
| Malerie Grady | … | Ballet Dancer |
| Cody Green | … | Paris Opera Dancer |
| Derrick Guidry | … | Man in Church |
| Bob Harter | … | Man Who Buys Button House |
| Aaron Jennings Hartnell | … | American Ballet Theatre Judge |
| Tim Harvey | … | Soda Jerk |
| Emily Howe | … | French Nurse |
| Rhonda Huete | … | Button Factory Worker |
| Grant James | … | Joking Old Man |
| Christopher Karl Johnson | … | Medical Officer on Liberty Ship |
| Shiloh Jolie-Pitt | … | Caroline as Baby |
| Jeffrey Scott Jones | … | Submarine Gunner |
| Nadyia Jones | … | Loft Dancer |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia