The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Scoop

Brad Pitt assumes his most bizarre role in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Brad was convinced to shed his heartthrob image by director David Fincher after initially being reluctant to take the role.

Adapted from the classic 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Benjamin Button is a traveler tale about a man who is born in his eighties and ages backwards. The story begins in New Orleans at the end of World War I in 1918 and continues to the twenty-first century, recording his journey as he seeks a place where he fits in.

Last week, a select few attended a private screening of the film before its December 25 release. Here's a roundup of some early buzz and reviews:

Anne Thompson at Variety says, "David Fincher and screenwriter Eric Roth (Forrest Gump) have delivered an historic achievement, a masterful piece of cinema, and a moving treatise on death, loss, loneliness and love. As the movie proceeds, and Brad Pitt as Button ages backwards, we know where he is headed: It's where we are all going. But he feels he has to go there by himself, without his loved ones. And nobody wants to die alone."

Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter writes, "Superbly made and winningly acted by Brad Pitt in his most impressive outing to date, this Paramount/Warner Bros. co-production should connect with a large audience."

Patrick Goldstein of The Los Angeles Times contends, "Fincher has made a movie that will be endlessly debated, for its storytelling craft as well as for the overwhelming nature of its visual effects. But there's no getting around the fact that the prevailing mood in Benjamin Button is one of melancholy, either because it's the tone that best fits Fincher's gifts or because it's the tone that best suits the film's solitary hero--while we're all trudging forward, his body's clock is spinning in the wrong direction."

Stay tuned for more buzz surrounding the film!