David Fincher's influence on the film is multi-leveled. First, his competency with filming to use visual effects is of the highest quality and on a level that finds it hard for an audience member to see that Benjamin's face was digitally imposed upon other actor's body's as he is a younger man. The flawless look of the character throughout the film makes us believe that he is truly living in the world of everyone else, while in reality Brad Pitt recorded his performance for motion capture in order that it be imprinted in the way previously described. Fincher has furthered the standard for visual effects with this film. And, notably he has done so with a period drama narrative which shows that the advancement of technology can and should be used for more than comic book movies.
The director also gets stellar performances by the cast, most notably by Blanchett and by Pitt in his motion captured performances. Fincher is known to attract great talents and gets wonderful performances from that deepen the relationships in the story, allowing for the world and lives of these characters to be understood and felt in great detail by the audience. Fincher also uses his abilities to move the story forward with consistent pace and tone both visually and aurally. In the capable hands of David Fincher, Fitzgerald's classic short story is brought to life through craft and advancement in technology in a way that cinema had yet to see on such a large scale.
