A man finds himself aging backwards from birth and leads
an incredible life as he pursues the woman of his dreams. DRAMA/FANTASY
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The Curious Case of
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I'd heard such wonderful things about this fantasy drama, which I suppose is what led to my lack of enjoyment. Benjamin Button is fourteen minutes shy of three hours, and the film doesn't need all that. Most of it could've been cut, such as the unnecessary framing device. While Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett deliver very strong performances, their characters can really be quite despicable at times. It's hard to relate to that kind of obsession, though it does fall into Fincher's wheelhouse. Ultimately, the film is just awfully dull, and to me, that's the cardinal sin a film can commit.
In 1918, a very old, very sick baby is born. The father (Flemyng) panics and leaves the baby on a random doorstep. Queenie (Henson) finds the baby and raises him as her own son, Benjamin (Pitt). Turns out the baby is a very rare miracle. He's aging backwards. He's born an old man and grows up to be a child. It's a neat concept, but it doesn't have much of an impact on the film itself, which plays out a lot like Forrest Gump. The two films share the same screenwriter, so Eric Roth clearly has a safe zone he likes to stay in. Some of the subplots are pretty good, like Jared Harris and the war boat. Honestly, I just don't see myself going back to this one. Benjamin Button proved to me that David Fincher is human after all. No director has a flawless track record. While this film was a critical and financial success, it's just so damn dull that I can't find much to praise. |