The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (12A)

07 February 2009

THE multi Oscar-nominated THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (12A) is adapted from the 1920s story by F Scott Fitzgerald about a man who is born in his 80s and ages backwards.

It follows his life in New Orleans from the end of World War One to the 21st century - the people he meets, the places he visits, the loves he finds and loses.

Brad Pitt, increasingly garnering plaudits for films like Twelve Monkeys, Legends of the Fall, Babel and The Assassination of Jesse James..., stars in the title role and has been nominated for the Best Actor gong. Cate Blanchett, Julia Ormond and Tilda Swinton also feature.

Director David Fincher says: "Benjamin is like a cue ball and all the people he collides with leave marks on him. That's what a life is - a collection of these dents and scratches. They are what make him who he is and not anyone else."

And Pitt adds: "I like this idea of dents. People make an impact and leave some kind of an impression.

"There's something very poetic and accepting about that. It doesn't mean you roll over. It doesn't mean you don't fight for what you want. It means you accept the inevitabilities of life. People come and go. People leave, whether by choice or by death. People leave as you yourself will someday leave - it's the inevitable. How you deal with this becomes the question.