Review of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) by Danny O — 08 Aug 2015

Benjamin Button is a really unique and interesting film. The performances by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchet are great. The directing and technical aspects of the movie, from the production design to the convincing visual effects, are nothing short of amazing.

The concept man aging backwards and how that's portrayed is really quite interesting, and it works very well because of solid execution. The movie is too long, and some will argue that it wants to slowly and gradually show this man's change.

We slowly work through his older (or first) years, but then breeze through his final few years. So in that regard, the pacing is a bit awkward. Some flash-forward scenes of an older Daisy (Blanchet) dare interwoven into the story, and could have been excluded, as they don't amount to anything.

I also didn't get that into any of the supporting characters, I really liked Benjamin but the rest weren't as memorable or deep a I would have hoped. This movie is pretty great overall, the ending is very emotionally affecting and the messages about life shown in this movie are something special.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button gets 4/5 stars (A-).