A stylish epic which looks fantastic but lacks punch

Rating: 6/10 (22 February 2009)

I went to see this recently after wanting to see it for some time when I saw the trailer for it. Firstly, I'm a fan of the director (David Fincher) and love his films such as Se7en and Fight Club etc. Also the story seemed so intriguing and it really pulled me into wanting to see it.
The beginning starts off quite promisingly with some lovely photography and slightly quick-paced storytelling after we are thrust into just after the Great War. I loved the small sub-plot of the father who lost his son at war which led to him setting the clock he'd built backwards in hope of the war heroes returning. The make-up/visual effects are also superb when seeing Pitt as the decrepit, ancient young boy. Some of the scenes in which he spends his time at the retirement home he grew up in are too slow and wind on for to long, resulting in interest starting to wane. As the film progresses, Benjamin's body change and maturity follows. As we follow his experiences it starts to pick up and it engages you closely with the character as Pitt narrates continuously. The film holds some effective and intriguing messages in regards to life and growth etc.
However, as the film goes on you start to wonder why we should be interested in this man's life. We all know he's going through his life backward but this initial interest starts to fade after some time. The film also kept reminding me of another Eric Roth story (Forrest Gump) in which the central character is narrating us through his story. Also the re-occurring floating feather in Forrest Gump could be compared to the re-occurring Humming Bird in this picture. Another similarity is Benjamin's relationship with Miss Rose (Blanchett) to Forrest's relationship with Jenny (both couples don't quite get together until late on and then something dramatic takes their relationship away) The difference between this film and Forrest Gump is that Gump had a clear and definite idea with what they wanted to achieve in the film. The whole story that Forrest always meets the most famous people of the 21st Century and stumbles across many landmarks in history and unknowingly creates famous brands was a concrete idea. The fantasy aspect in Forrest Gump and him remaining his usual self despite it all was the film's path, idea and message. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button lacks that definite and clear path which results in the audience not knowing exactly why we should be taken across this man's life.
Also, unfortunately the acting in the film lacks sincerity and an overall sense of feeling with conviction. I'm not the biggest Brad Pitt fan but I thought he was dignified and showed his experience in this film. He under-played the role and it was the perfect approach. The other main role (Rose) played by Cate Blanchett had a performance from her which was bland, lacking emotion and just not enough urge or feeling in the character. This unfortunately resulted in the chemistry between her and Button to be minimal. I couldn't see the love between them, there was no sign of it anywhere. These aspects normally shape a film and greatly contribute to the power of it, and this film lacked it all.
On a more positive note, the cinematography throughout was gorgeous, as was the set design, colour, costume and overall look. The messages and little touches including the man who got struck by lightening seven times and Benjamin taking his father to watch the sunset over the lake as he did when he was a boy were touching and poignant.
Overall, I thought the film looked superb including some amazing visual effects and make-up (including when Pitt was made to look about 10 years younger than he is now), was directed nicely with a strong narrative structure, some lovely messages and touches but through the lack of interest in places and lack of acting quality/power it resulted in the film losing some punch and losing the merit of being a great film. Therefore it is a good film but it won't be considered an absolute classic.