Earns the right to be close to three hours in length

Rating: 8/10 (6 March 2009)

Cinema is the only art form that allows us to transcend the inevitable progression of time. Photography permits us to freeze images in a trapped temporal position, but since its earliest days cinema has shown how the world might appear if we could shuffle the order of calendar selections. In "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" the genius of the story is contained within pure science fiction material. A child is born as a withered old man with one foot in the grave and ages over the course of a healthy lifespan to become younger with each passing year. Millions of possibilities exist as to how this man could lead his mysterious existence, and the grandest gesture in David Fincher's old-fashioned fantasy is that the man is treated not as a freak, but observed by others, and ourselves, from a different perspective. As a commentary on the goodwill of fellow man, this is a movie to clasp.
There is a young boy who lives in my neighbourhood who has a hideous deformity on his face. One can only sympathise with his unfortunate condition. Whether his outer appearance affects any relationship I may have with him is unfounded. If he is a good guy I will welcome his friendship, but if he fails to be civil around me then I will judge him solely by his attitude. That is how the sea of characters take to Mr. Benjamin Button. I went in expecting to see one sort of movie and was joyously surprised. Director David Fincher steers clear of casting a herd of bullying folk to tease and mock the abnormal individual. He also avoids sticking slavishly to the original comic material by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This is an old-fashioned weepie epic in the best sense of the description. It is tough to make such a picture and avoid critical bashing because it is easy to veer into the realm of melodrama. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" hardly enters into this territory. Yes, the sets and the effects take precedence, but there is character depth on display. The natural progression of the story is set in stone, so all Fincher can hope to achieve is through his protagonist's inducing of radical thought through absorbing others beliefs.
Read the full review: http://www.sightforallseasons.co.nr/