In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Brad Pitt plays Benjamin Button – an aging backward man played to great effect by Cate Blanchett who also acts as his love interest. Pitt’s performance is incredible – seamlessly balancing wisdom with vulnerability with grace. Cate Blanchett provides excellent support as his love interest.
Recently, 59-year-old actor Edward Asner was seen filming an advertisement for De’Longhi in France and appeared fresh and youthful on set.
The Story
As Oscar season approached, Brad Pitt was frequently being asked whether or not he had undergone special effects work on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which is based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1922 short story depicting a man born looking old who eventually appears to age backwards with each passing decade.
The movie employed both practical and digital special effects makeup techniques to give the impression that Pitt was actually delaying his aging, with spectacular results. While Pitt may be the focus of this movie, his performance was supported by an incredible cast that featured Cate Blanchett (Daisy Fuller) and Tilda Swinton (Elizabeth Abbott).
Cannom and his team took great care in creating face and body maquettes of Pitt that represented each stage in his life. Once photographed from four different angles using different lighting conditions, these maquettes were taken back for analysis by image analysis technology before finally being used as part of Pitt’s live performance.
Furthermore, much of the film was shot against blue screen to allow artists to work out the timing for each scene and then use that footage to digitally age Pitt; this process was repeated across all periods in its storyline.
Viewers of the film will notice that Pitt’s eyes remain consistent and unmistakably his own throughout, thanks to Digital Domain VFX Supervisor Eric Barba’s “emotion capture” technique. They took high-resolution footage of his face, then placed it into a computer-generated character’s head for seamless blend of SFX and practical makeup, making it difficult for many people to detect when Pitt is actually wearing masks or not.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is an incredible and captivating film that shows what can be accomplished when combined talents come together – both filmmakers and actors come together. Additionally, it serves as a reminder that while we may wish for time travel and an earlier version of ourselves to return back into existence, such a dream won’t necessarily become reality – although scientists do strive toward that end goal.
The Cast
Based on F Scott Fitzgerald’s short story, this film stars Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button – a man born old who reverses his aging process. Cate Blanchett plays Daisy Fuller – his love interest throughout. Together they form an outstanding pair, giving excellent performances as their love affair blossoms over time. Additionally, both provide superior makeup and special effects work.
Although this movie does have its flaws, it still manages to have some fascinating points. One such interesting aspect is how well it displays the reverse aging effect; it truly amazes viewers at how effective this phenomenon works and makes for an incredible storyline.
One of the movie’s strongest attributes is how it explores relationships among its characters, making for an emotionally engaging story and garnering many positive reviews.
This movie is an ideal blend of romance, drama and history that anyone would enjoy watching. I highly recommend it and would definitely suggest it to any of my friends – my only criticism would be its length; an intermission would have helped immensely!
Brad Pitt does an outstanding job in this movie and I was thoroughly entertained by his performance. His ability to enact life stages with such charisma was truly remarkable, while Cate Blanchett excelled as Daisy’s counterpart – making their relationship much clearer for viewers.
This film boasts an outstanding cast, boasting many talented actors. Directed by David Fincher and written beautifully, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has received many positive reviews. I recommend seeing it and give it nine out of ten rating!
The Visual Effects
To portray Brad Pitt as someone who reverses aging, production required various visual effects techniques. One of the more challenging was creating convincing aging makeup; makeup artist Greg Cannom spent 18 months crafting and perfecting his process of applying ageing makeup, using silicone-based transfer and cream makeup with flexible qualities to mimic natural-looking wrinkles and creases; additionally it needed to move with his face when walking or talking allowing for normal performance without fear of makeup slipping or moving off his face during motion or speech.
Digital Domain was responsible for creating the most complex VFX effects in this film, including its character’s transformation from an old man into a young child, as well as creating several CG shots that showed him as he aged from childhood into adulthood.
Digital Domain utilized a range of compositing and tracking tools in its work on this film, such as Flame for compositing and Maya for 3D tracking; they created 315 shots using these methods. Lola FX refined their Photoshop-like 2D/3D technique of skin smoothing and shape warping to add de-aging sequences between Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett for some scenes; their de-aging sequences had previously been used on Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan from X-Men: The Last Stand using similar techniques with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan from X-Men: The Last Stand as well.
Another essential aspect of the film’s VFX was creating characters’ hair. Producers wanted to ensure that it looked natural and not too clumped together, so they used a wig instead of extensions in order to achieve this goal. Once in place, it was colored and styled so as to appear natural-looking as possible; even some slight wave was added for an effect of natural growth.
The visual effects work of the movie was widely praised, winning an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Critics gave it positive reviews; its average rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes was 72%.
The End
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button opened to critical acclaim and earned thirteen Academy Award nominations when released in 2008. Starring Brad Pitt as a man who reverses time while Cate Blanchett serves as his love interest throughout life, this film by David Fincher (Seven, Panic Room and Zodiac) was loosely inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1922 short story of the same name.
The movie centers around Benjamin Button, an 80-year-old born old yet constantly getting younger over time. At birth he displays cataracts, impaired hearing, and other characteristics typical of someone 80 years old; upon seeing this he was abandoned at a nursing home where he meets Queenie who takes him in like her son; later she even names him after her late husband! Over time Benjamin leads an extraordinary and exciting life; sailing across oceans, becoming a dancer, and experiencing many other adventures are just part of what make up his adventuresome life story!
At the end of each day, he finds comfort and solace in Daisy – she understands him completely and gives unconditionally in return. Even in his most unusual circumstances, Daisy makes him happy and encourages him to live life fully.
Though its plot may be extraordinary, its visual effects do not live up to some audiences’ expectations. This was partially because Director David Fincher could not locate an adequate makeup artist that could properly age Brad Pitt backwards; however he worked with other top actors including Julia Ormond, Jason Flemyng, Tilda Swinton and Elias Koteas – each providing incredible performances!
This movie boasts some impressive special effects. While director Refn employed computer technology for some scenes and characters, he relied heavily on an experienced crew of makeup artists. Cannom was among these professionals; working closely with Refn to craft Pitt’s aged looks.
Overall, the movie is an engaging drama with incredible performances by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett that are both moving and enjoyable to watch. Additionally, its score and cinematography add another level of enjoyment that make this an essential viewing for fans of genre cinema.
