10 Completely Unexpected Films By Famous Directors

8. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button - David Fincher's Gump-ian Fairytale

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button is exactly what you'd expect from Eric Roth, the writer of Forrest Gump - basically because Benjamin Button uses the same 'unique soul lives through historical events', quasi-fantasy template all over again. What's less obvious, though, is who's behind the camera.

Aesthetically, Benjamin Button still looks like a David Fincher movie, the green-gold-brown chiaroscuro photography providing the biggest clue as to who's at the helm. But otherwise, this is distinctly un-Fincher, being not dark, grimy and violent like his most famous work (Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac), but sentimental, magical, and near-enough family-friendly. It's almost as though Fincher spontaneously grew a soul whilst making Benjamin Button, and actually grew attached to his characters for a change.

He lost it shortly after, obviously, following Button up with stinging nihilist's biopic The Social Network and horror-thriller The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, so The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button now sticks out like a sore thumb amidst the Fincher filmography.