A Pigment of My Imagination

I remember seeing the first teaser trailer for this movie several months back and being absolutely intrigued. Great cast, some artsy looking shots, a clever premise, beautifully haunting piano theme from “Days of Heaven”, and what? a David Fincher movie not having to do with grisly death and despair?!?!

Well, after a long wait filled with anticipation, I have finally seen it! I read (well, skimmed, so as not to ruin it all) a few reviews before seeing it which were very flattering, and so I went in with high hopes. And I must say, I am not at all disappointed, in fact, I really loved this movie!

I believe it is one of the best new movies I have seen recently, probably one of the strong, most original films to come out of Hollywood in a while. I won’t waste too much time describing the story, you can either find it online, or even better, just go watch it yourself. After all, movies are meant to be watched, not described!

Anyways, congratulations to Fincher for making a solid film, bold and visionary like most of his previous work, yet entirely different from anything else that I’ve seen by him before, both in terms of style, genre and emotional material. Visually, the film is absolutely stunning. Cinematographer Claudio Miranda (who I will keep an eye on from now on) treats this film with painterly beauty, leading the audience through the story’s world with one gorgeous shot to another. The film is rich in color, bathed in golden splendor, yet given a dark, aged and fantastic feel. It is a true treat to behold: striking sets, open seas, moody nights, beaches, striking sunsets, giant clocks, brilliant stars (I love the use of red for Daisy’s character)… and all captured marvelously.

Alexandre Desplat’s score is very orchestrally complex and beautiful, but is very mysterious and restrained, not a typical Hollywood score with big crescendos telling you “ok, its supposed to be romantic right now”, and supports the film brilliantly, while not stealing too much attention, or taking away from the actor’s job to carry the film.

Acting-wise, this film is excellent. Terrific casting all around. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett might be Hollywood’s pretty faces, and the movie certainly plays off that fact (although in very clever, and often humbling ways), yet it also displays their true work as actors. I know Brad Pitt gets a lot of slack, but personally, I think he is a terrific actor, when put in the right role, and with the right director (clearly, Fincher + Pitt = good). If you don’t expect him to play a Greek semi-god (*cough* Troy, which granted, I still liked), then you’re fine. As Benjamin Button, he is both captivating and endearing, and it is truly captivating to see him wrestly with his character, and having to balance his physical age with his mental age.

Cate Blanchett was, as always, breath-takingly spectacular. I was at first very turned off by Daisy’s earlier scenes of immorality, but she earned my respect later on, and ends up a very admirable and sympathetic character, despite her flaws. All the minor characters are strongly fleshed out as well. A terrific performance for the Queenie character, and great supporting work from Tilda Swinton and Jason Flemyng and Julia Ormond.

Thematically, the film raises a lot of questions, and I’m not quite sure I have grasped exactly what it was going for, or what Fincher was trying to say. Granted, I believe films are meant to raise questions, and not to preach, nevertheless, I did feel the film was vert ambiguous about some of its moral statements. However, this is a film that tackles serious subjects: the importance of life, true love, fear of death and aging, the battle between the physical and emotional worlds, etc — and for that I applaud it. I have read some reviews which state the film is kept at an arm’s length from the audience. I agree partially, I think the film was sometimes a bit cold. But I admire Fincher for being able to do that, instead of just making it a cliche, sappy Hollywood romance (a la “Australia”). The film doesn’t tell you what to feel, but does its best to present the truth of the story as is, and let you as an audience make up your own mind what you believe is wrong and right, and who you feel for.

Overall, a far from perfect film, but a very bold and beautiful made film, a clever and absolutely intriguing story, fascinating characters, quirky comedy, passionate romance, and more. It is a very intelligent film, one that makes you think and question the cliche reality that we come to accept. It is also a film with great heart. My respect and thanks to the whole team, and I hope the Oscars agree.