Review of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) by Akashvijay — 19 Jan 2015

Benjamin Button is well directed, well lit and filled with some beautiful imagery. Almost everything else is a problem. There are several dramatic moments in the film, enough to fool an audience into thinking that something profound is happening.

But when you start asking the "why's?" the entire premise breaks down and the film has no answers. The events that unfold have no purpose, other than to create an "earnest" atmosphere.

The characters are portrayed in a monotonous and self-obsessed manner and Cate Blanchett, despite here far-fetched talent, turns out to be the most annoying character on screen. The aspect of Button that separates it from most nonsensical melodramas of its sort is that, at its centre it's about a man living life backwards.

The most disappointing part of it is that, after watching the movie, I learnt almost nothing about it, certainly not anything I couldn't have predicted myself. Button is no more than a sappy and pretentious remake of Forrest Gump, the only difference is that it has been done backwards this time.