It pushed my buttons

Rating: 7/10 (11 June 2011)

I was actually expecting to hate Benjamin Button (the film not the character) but actually I ended up rather liking it, but not exactly loving it completely. To me it shows uncanny resemblances to Forrest Gump and is no where near that standard in my opinion.
Let me start off with the cons. I really have to express my feelings towards the old woman, supposedly Cate Blanchett, at the start and throughout. Why? What is the point of her, everything she sad just made me burst into hysterics because she was just so inaudible. I literally couldn't understand a word she said. (Apart from a few). She is meant to be a dying woman and even sounds like she can hardly speak because she's so close to death's door, yet she ends up telling a 3 hour story! The whole sub-plot made me laugh with these pointless interludes that were as pointless as the old woman in "Titanic", and at least I could understand her! Her strong southern accent would be hard enough to hear anyway, never mind a croaky, disjointed strong southern accent. "Hello worse nightmare!"- Miranda.
My other problem is the lack of life. The story is so eccentric and sometimes had mad-cap strokes that were really over the top, which is absolutely fine! It sometimes resembled the works of "Amelie" yet lacked the life "Amelie" had. I think that they should've taken it further, instead of making it so still like a gentle drama. "Forrest gump" was also full of much more life than this.
Don't get me wrong, "Benjamin Butty" really did have strokes of genius and wonder. The script really is top-notch, as it visits a mans life and every aspect of it as he ages backward. The story is interesting and original and David Fincher shows some really fantastic directing and cinematography. "Butty" really is a nice-looking film.
The CGI effects were amazing, making Pitt look like an ancient old hag, to a boy-ish face. Cate Blanchett wasn't quite so convincing, she just looked like herself with a couple of lines drawn on her face. But you can't have it all.
Overall, the film is actually really long but it doesn't feel that long at all. I was scared of getting bored, but I didn't thanks to the intriguing story, gorgeous cinematography and top-notch directing. However, I do feel it could've been just a little bit better and perhaps a little more... Crazy!