We’ve all heard, over and over again at this point, how much of a grab-your-hanky film “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is. You could surmise as much from reading the screenplay, that’s to be sure, and I keep coming back to the closing words of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story as evidence of the crippling power of the story’s emotional beats.
Well I just got off the phone with one of the principle performers in the film, an interview for a separate piece at another outlet, and this line crossed my bow:
Grown men have had to sit there and just collect themselves before they could get up and leave.
Expectations are pretty much through the roof at this point, no? Can’t…wait…
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13 responses to “Collecting themselves”
So excited for this, will you be linking to this other interview when it is ready?
meh
Looking forward to this movie more than any other this year. Dying to see it.
Okay, I can’t wait no more. Saw the teaser yesterday in theaters for the first time. the audience was gasping for breath. People were amazed. Wow.
Don’t play with my emotions, Kris. I don’t think my heart can take it.
On another topic, the MPAA just gave “Slumdog Millionaire” a R rating. How much do you think this will hurt the film’s chances?
I heard, John. Unbelievable.
Kris, I saw it last night and quite enjoyed the film, but I came out of the screening knowing that the MPAA would find a way to give it a R rating. I think it’s those opening torture scenes that bother them the most…
I know you hate the film, but it’s when I saw how many people needed a moment before they left, and some of them were even outright sobbing, that I understood the power of MILLION DOLLAR BABY.
As much as I am dying to see this movie, Jonathan don’t exaggerate. “gasping for breath”? “people were amazed”? How can you tell from your tiny seat in a darkened theatre? Unless people were in fact choking on popcorn I doubt you would have had any chance of noticing if people were out of breath in a cinema.
Glenn, of course I was using those terms to make a point. Don’t tell me you’ve never felt the vibe of an excited audience when something completely unexpected and new hits them with a trailer.
There are only a few flicks that I can remember obvious sobbing and amazement when the end credits hit. The first one that immediately comes to mind is “United 93”. That ending was as powerful as I have ever seen.
“Million Dollar Baby” was pretty brutal as well. You could only hear sniffling and Clint Eastwood during the penultimate scene in that one.
United 93 was an experience. Utterly frightening and devastating. One of the few films that are so good they’re unwatchable for some. That ending helped too.