The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Sometimes I find a movie that is pretty good, but not great. But so many other people are falling all over themselves in adoration for it. This makes me like the movie less, if only to spite other peoples' misplaced praise. Babel was like that two years ago, and Benjamin Button is that film for me this year.

Button is based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, but must have been changed quite a bit to fit our modern times. It was adapted for the screen by Eric Roth, who is also responsible for the most overrated film of all-time, Forrest Gump. David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac) directs the film, which stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. The story centers around Benjamin, a man born old who ages backwards, a very intriguing premise.

So what does it mean to be human? That is the essence of this film. Does the direction we age make us human, and if that changes, how do we change? If our body ages backward, does our mind? What about experience? How will people treat someone who looks old but acts young, and vise versa. What about age discrimination? What about love? What about romantic love, how would that work if you we so much older/younger than someone, yet the "same age." These are all great questions that the film delves into. In essence, Button examines the human condition.

The film is beautifully shot, with sort of a bleak undertone. The colors are beautiful and the feel fits the story well. The cinematography is great, the acting is nearly flawless in every regard, and the directing is fantastic. Yet the film doesn't grab the audience the way it should, and it all comes down to the writing. It felt like Forrest Gump 2. The story was cheesy, predictable and uninspired, truly tragic for a film that had so much potential.