Well-made but dull and implausible

Rating: 5/10 (26 December 2008)

Many reviewers are gushing about this movie, but I thought the movie was totally implausible and inconsistent. The premise is so bizarre and silly that it makes the love story impossible to appreciate. Furthermore, Brad Pitt is largely mute, which I don't equate with fine acting. Cate Blanchett is very cold and distant, not someone who would make an obvious love interest. Even Tilda Swinton was warmer than Cate Blanchett. The last half-hour is especially disappointing, since part of Benjamin's body ages normally (the brain), while other parts age in an inverted sense. I felt that the screenwriters were having a particularly bad time of it, trying to figure out an ending that was somehow consistent with the beginning. I predict that because Benjamin Button is very dull, and self-important, it will be nominated for best picture Oscar and will probably win (think Out of Africa, The English Patient or Chariots of Fire).