Movie Review- "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

This film has the potential to be this year's "Titanic" for me. And that's NOT a good thing. It's not that I didn't like this movie. I just think it's a bit overrated. Some parts were really cool, and some parts incredibly boring. And it is LONG! I don't have a problem with films being lengthy, but this one is long. It runs nearly 3 hours, and you know it. And at the risk of stating the obvious ad nauseum, I think I liked it better the first time I saw it, when it was called "Forrest Gump." The connection is inescapable.

Brad Pitt gives a better-than-average performance. By that, I mean his performance is better than say, Ocean's 12 or 13, but not as good as "Legends of the Fall". And, I hate to say it, but I think I'm getting a little tired of Cate Blanchett. Her performance is her standard good.

The film does have an interesting premise. It's based (loosely,I understand) on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, of "The Great Gatsby" fame. It centers around a child born with all symptoms of being elderly. As he grows up, he actually ages backward. So, when he dies, he is an infant. Like I said, interesting premise.

It feels like this movie got its nomination for Best Picture on its technical merits. And from that standpoint, it is very well done. Kudos to make-up, special effects, and costuming. Again, I have to give props to the director for bringing something like this to life. In other words, it takes a great deal of vision to take a short story and make 3 hours of film out if it.

There is, like most of my recently reviewed films a good discussion factor. One, obviously is the technical excellence of the film. Beyond this, there are issues of being in love, what it really means "to age", mortality, and are things that we encounter in our lives chance, or do they serve a purpose (a recurring theme this year)?

The "That Guy Factor" is pretty good here. In fact, one of the "that guys" is a woman. This is Tilda Swinton, as the wife of spy, whom Benjamin meets and has an affair with in Russia. She's been in lots of films, but might be best known (at least among this readership) as the White Witch in the first Narnia movie. Also here in a bit part is a character actor Elias Koteas. He also has been in lots of films. But to me he'll always be Casey Jones from the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie from when I was a kid.

It's easy to see why the Academy would have nominated this film for Best Picture. I don't think it deserved it, especially since I happen to believe that Gran Torino got royally snubbed. If it does win, I'll always remember it as the new "Titanic": An overly long movie that a lot of people liked, but I didn't. Or, I'll always remember it as the new "Titanic": A film that robbed much more deserving films of the recognition they deserved.

Acting: B
Directing: A-
That Guy: A-
Overall: B