A wasted plot device, wasted characters, and wasted time

Rating: 4/10 (18 October 2009)

Overall, this movie bored me. Surely it was pretty to watch; but for nearly three hours of my time, I wanted a little more.
My biggest gripe is that the screenwriter wasted the most interesting aspect of this movie: a man is born elderly and grows into a child. A life lived in reverse seems the ultimate fantasy, a true curiosity, a source of constant inner conflict. Yet we never see Benjamin grapple with his existence. Instead, as Benjamin's growing younger by the day takes a back seat to the romance between him and Daisy and -- even more unfortunately -- the production value of the film. To take such a brilliant plot concept and perpetually discard it over the course of three hours is simply irritating.
In addition, the use of Hurricane Katrina as a backdrop struck me as gratuitous and unnecessary. I have yet to reconcile the Katrina storyline with the story of Benjamin Button. In fact, the melodrama of Daisy and her daughter in a hospital room strikes me as something you'd fine on "The Bold and the Beautiful."
Overall, this film is pretty disappointing.
THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS FILM: -The cinematography -An outstanding musical score -Make-up, costumes, and set design -Clever flashback scenes
THE DEFICIENCIES: -Character development -A viable plot -Emotion