Its Crying Time Again: Benjamin Button and Seven Pounds

Oh Will…Oh Brad, Why Do You Make Me Cry?

Just like fashion and the weather, the movie business has seasons. Summer is “Blockbuster Season” with it come the release of action movies and BIG blockbuster films, just in time for the kiddies summer vacations. December is pre-award season, the time when Golden Globe and Academy Award voters make their nominations. That’s why you see a flood of important dramas and  serious movies being released at the end of the year.  Actors like to pull out all the stops, so to speak and end the year on a high note. But why do those high notes always have to be so sad. I spent Christmas Day with Will Smith and Brad Pitt.  Both actors released excellent movies.

Seven Pounds

Will Smith starred in Seven Pounds with Rosario Dawson in a touching, although confusing story of  one man’s search for redemption.  Smith character Ben Thomas tries to make for the deaths he caused in an automobile accident because he was checking his Blackberry.  The movie asks an interesting question, at least to me.  Can you make up for mistakes you’ve made in the past?  Can you give you live to save another person’s  life? Who can choose which lives are worth saving?

Brad Pitt stars with Cate Blanchett and Taraji P. Henson in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Benjamin Buttons tells the story of a life lived in reverse. Benjamin was born an 80 year old baby who instead of growing older life the rest of us, grows younger.  The movie was beautifully filmed by director  David Fincher.

Even though they were completely different movies,  Seven Pounds and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button had a some striking similarities.

• Both movies had gorgeous leading men who probably gave the best performances of their careers. Brad Pitt was actually nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance.

• At the heart of each movie there was an enduring love story, that called for a sacrifice on the man’s part.

• These movies made you think about some very serious questions about life, death and what it means to really love someone. How much are you willing to give up for the person you love? What does life mean to you and what will you do with your life? Such meaningful questions.

• Seven Pounds started at the end of the story and worked backwards to explain the actions of Will Smith character. Benjamin Button was about a man whose life was lived backwards.

• They both have bittersweet endings or beginnings. You have to decide for yourself.

What did you think of Seven Pounds and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button?