A Forrest Gump remake with a fresh ending

Rating: 6/10 (24 January 2010)

One cold New Year's Eve in 1918 Benjamin Button is born. His mother dies at childbirth, whilst he himself a wrinkled deformed baby is left at the doorstep of an old people's home by his panicking father. After seeing this gift from god and a doctor stating that he has not much time to live a black maid Dorothy Baker (Faune A. Chambers) decides to look after the infant. Years pass but instead of dying each passing year sees Benjamin's health improving with age. A young boy in the body of an old man he is set to live his life in reverse.
His soul-mate is Daisy (Cate Blanchett), several years younger than him and an aspiring dancer. Life however forces them apart when Benjamin becomes a sailor and Daisy leaves for New York to pursue her dancing career.
This won't be much of a discovery and as some people have noticed in a cute youtube spoof Benjamin Button is so similar to Forrest Gump that it is impossible not to notice. This does not only concern story similarities (with differences ranging from Gump partaking in the Vietnam War and Button in the II World War), but also the way the story is structure and told. This feeling of deja vu really makes you focus to much attention on the wrong things. Add to that the not-too-deep story and you have no option but to come to the conclusion that the first 90 minutes of the movie is a waste.
Now I must say that after being extremely disappointed by the first 90 minutes I really must applaud the director for the rest. Once Benjamin and Daisy finally come together the movie takes on totally new subject matters, becomes deeper and more thought through. During this part of the movie I must say we have possibly two of the most heart-warming sequences in XXI-century cinema. The first shows Benjamin and his daughter playing outside with a balloon, while Daisy watches them from inside the house. The second shows Benjamin's last moments of life. During these two scenes you really feel like you are watching a masterpiece.
I wasn't really convinced by the motivations of Button and Daisy break-up at the end of the movie. It seemed forced and unnecessary. On the other hand the storyline really makes you contemplate what occurred long after the movie finished. Heartwarming and masterful movie, even if too much repetitiveness for 60% of it...