Critics were divided over David Fincher’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Some were enchanted by its Forrest Gump-ish charm, by the performances, or by the awe-inspiring special effects.
Others found the character of Button too “inert,” a character who only observes, but isn’t interesting.
Seitz is among the film’s most passionate defenders. At The House Next Door, he called it Fincher’s “third masterpiece or near-masterpiece, along with Fight Club and Zodiac.” In this new video essay, Seitz finds that Button is just the latest of a long line of important big screen characters who, while not demonstrating themselves as dynamic game-changers, still represent the human experience in a profound way.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is now available in a Criterion Collection edition.
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