Not on the button science-wise

Rating: Null/10 (10 February 2009)

Brad Pitt is good, Cate Blanchett excellent, and the production values lush. Despite half a dozen people playing the main character (a la Dylan) things fit together quite well. The atmosphere reminded me of Forrest Gump (with whom it shared a scriptwriter)  a cornball "well, isn't that just life" sort of movie. Well, I don't mind southern corn (I lived and worked in New Orleans, where this film is mainly set, for a term a few years ago) and it tells a cute love story, but the central conceit, a person living backwards through time, is just plain ridiculous. "Time like a mighty stream bears all its sons away"  in one direction. Anyone going in another direction would be another dimension  we could not see them and they could not see us. Of course literature need not obey the laws of physics but "suspension of disbelief" is more difficult when physics is regarded as irrelevant. This is not so much science fiction as unscientific fiction.
One curious aspect is the portrayal of African Americans in the story. It is as if the racism of the Deep South never existed, which I suppose fits in with the 'fairy tale' plot. Benjamin is brought up by the enormously sympathetic black proprietress of a genteel old people's home populated as far as I could see entirely by whites. Another odd thing is that one-one except Kate seems to notice that Ben is getting younger all the time. One might have thought his case would have aroused a certain amount of scientific interest. He also seems to be the only case, which is also odd.
This is an entertaining enough movie, diverting at times though a bit long at two and a half hours. But I'd only give it an Oscar for the make-up.