The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Review by Jason Donner

 

Brad Pitt is a man who ages backwards in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.   I hadn't really had a strong desire to see this movie until I noticed the backlash against it and decided, hey, if it's good enough to get backlash this early, it's got to be worth checking out.

Before I start this review, however, let me share an observation; If I was in a hospital with my dying mother and she started spouting this tale about a man she met who aged backwards, do you know what I would think?  Dementia!

I guess it's a good thing I wasn't in this movie.  It would have completely killed the romanticism.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button strikes me as a collection of scenes that comprise 71 percent of a good movie with 29 percent of a forgettable one.  While it is populated up to its big floppy liver-spotted jowls with terrific performances from Kate Blanchet and Brad Pitt, not to mention a slew of excellent supporting actors and some amazing makeup effects, it never connected with me on an emotional level.

Sure, it tried and did succeed every now and then, but it was blatant emotional manipulation - the kind that makes you feel dirty on the inside like letting a stranger pay you five dollars to watch you shower.  This doesn't mean that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a bad movie.  The emotional manipulation does feel good while it's happening and, hey, I got me five bucks out of the arrangement, but this is one of those movies that I doubt I would ever seek out to watch again.

This I blame on the writing which fails to flesh out the characters or their sometimes bewildering motivations in the movie.  Don't tell me I was the only one creeped out by the scenes where an elderly Benjamin was obviously ogling a little 8 year-old girl.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a movie that hits some of the right buttons, but misses all the others.  The acting and directing is beautiful, but the writing is two dimensional and really takes away from the wonder of the entire affair.  After a while, you might find yourself checking your watch and wondering when it will be over.