Smash Cut

I suppose it wouldn’t be inaccurate to say that I’m a fan of director David Fincher. It’s not that I hold him in my pantheon of all-time favorites, but at the same time I do make an effort to see every one of his movies, and pay to see them in the theater no less. (These days, I tend to find that I’m often much more satisfied watching films while plopped down on my sofa, rather than paying a New York-sized $12.00 to see them on the big screen where they’re often projected out of focus, compounding the irritation I get from the general unattractive cinematography and rapid-fire editing that’s prominent in contemporary movies.) Fincher tends to meticulously ensure a beautiful-looking film — and that goes from Seven through Zodiac — and often, at least on the level of eye-candy, guarantees some pictorial dazzle to justify ticket prices.

His newest movie, the F. Scott Fitzgerald adaptation The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, certainly seems to promise visual splendor: a decades-spanning story jumping through huge swaths of history and locations. In addition, it re-teams Fincher with his Seven star Brad Pitt. The problem is, based on the trailer, the movie seems vaguely Forrest Gump-ish. You know, one of those movies where some “disadvantaged” protagonist is carried by the waves of history through life-changing events, while opening the eyes of others to the beauty of humanity. That kind of muck.

For the time being, I’m keeping my fingers crossed and giving the movie the benefit of the doubt, but right now I can’t help but imagine Benjamin Button rattling off some pithy nonsense about a box of chocolates….